You're the Reason
by victoriamaslow
Summary: When Tori Vega signs to Rocque Records and moves to the Palm Woods, will romance spark or will it all take a turn for the worst?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** First story on FanFiction ever! I've always wanted to write a Big Time Rush and Victorious story and now here it is. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

This is a place Tori Vega never thought she would end up. Standing in front of the Palm Woods hotel (aka the "home of the future famous") with her sister Trina, Tori began to realize this isn't a dream, just pure reality.

"I can't believe we're here!" Trina exclaimed.

Tori smiled at her sister and nodded, thinking the exact same thing. She never thought that one performance at the Platinum Music Awards would get her a record deal with Gustavo Rocque. True, she owes Jade for letting her take her place (which was Tori's to begin with), but that was the least of her worries.

"Let's go sign in." Tori told Trina as they walked towards the entrance.

Most people would probably bring a parent with them to the Palm Woods instead of a sibling, but their mom and dad insisted on Tori taking Trina with her stating that it'll give them some bonding time. Tori knew better, she knew that her parents wanted a break from Trina so they forced her on Tori. Being the nicer of the two, Tori didn't mind, maybe she and Trina will bond during this experience.

"Hello." Trina smiled at the man behind the desk.

"Welcome to the Palm Woods. I'm Reginald Bitters, manager of the hotel. May I help you?" Mr. Bitters asked with a somewhat phony smile.

"Yes, I'm Tori Vega. I was told I had a room set up by Gustavo Rocque." Tori told the man.

"So you're the fresh meat. Well, Ms. Vega, we welcome you at the Palm Woods and your um…" he trailed off looking at Trina.

"I'm Trina, Tori's older sister. Also an aspiring actress, singer, television host, possibly model…"

"Trina!" Tori snapped at her sister. "I'm sure Mr. Bitters doesn't want to hear about your hopes and dreams."

"Whatever." Trina rolled her eyes.

"Well then, Ms. Vega, you're room is apartment 2L and here is your key. Have a Palm Woods day." Mr. Bitters said as he walked away and into his office.

"Here goes nothing." Tori murmured as she made her way towards the elevator.

"Don't worry you're gonna be fine." Trina offered.

Tori could only hope.

* * *

Opening the door to apartment 2L, Tori was met with a view she wasn't expecting.

"This is-"

"Terrible!" Trina finished, looking around in disgust.

"It's not that bad, with a little decorating we can easily fix this place up." Tori said, trying to remain optimistic.

"It looks depressing! There's not enough decorating in the world to fix this place up." Trina sighed, setting her purse down.

"Sure there is!" a voice said.

Tori and Trina turned around to face the door that four boys were blocking.

"We should know," the tall blond said. "Our apartment looked like crap before we got it all decked out."

Tori recognized the boys, she knows she has seen them before. But where?

"Oh my gosh. You're Big Time Rush!" her sister exclaimed. "I totally forgot you guys live in this building.

The guys smiled as they finally made their way through the door, Carlos closing it behind them.

"We are and we do, what's your name?" James asked.

"Trina. Trina Vega." she smiled at him, before batting her eyelashes. Tori rolled her eyes at her sister's actions, obviously she was going to try and go for him.

"Nice to meet you. How about you, do you have a name?" James asked Tori as he turned towards her.

"I'm Tori." she smiled shyly. James stared at her for a moment before focusing his gaze on the dull wall behind her.

"So you're the girl Gustavo's been talking about." Logan said.

"I guess so." she said, suddenly feeling nervous.

"In that case, welcome to the Rocque Records family." Carlos said as he walked up to her and shook her hand.

"Thanks." Tori sighed.

"This is so cool! I can't believe we get to live in the same place as you guys. So much better than sitting at home and spending my free time getting ointment for Tori." Trina said.

"Trina!" exclaimed Tori, her face reddening.

"Don't worry," Kendall said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. 'we won't tell anyone." he winked at her before removing his hand and Tori felt herself blush harder.

"So, we're heading over to the studio later, are you two coming?" asked Logan.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be there by 5."

"Great, we'll see you then. It was nice meeting you." Carlos said before making his way out of the apartment, Kendall and Logan following behind.

"2J." James said.

"Excuse me?" Tori asked, confused.

"If you ever need anything or just wanna hang out, we're in apartment 2J."

"Oh, thanks. I'll be sure to make a note of that." Tori smiled.

James smiled softly before leaving the apartment and closing the door.

"Aren't they cute?" Trina asked.

"Yeah, they're really…something." Tori said, grabbing her suitcase and walking to one of the bedrooms.

Maybe life at the Palm Woods would be fun after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** I'm not going to always post two chapters in one day, but I've had this chapter done for almost a week and I wanted to go ahead and post it. Also, chapter one was kind of short so I wanted to post something more lengthy. Enjoy!

* * *

"Hello?"

"Cat? It's Tori."

"Oh my gosh, Tori! I miss you, I haven't seen you in forever." Cat told her friend.

"It's only been two hours, Cat." Tori sighed, sometimes Cat's ditziness really gets under her skin.

"Two hours since what?" Cat asked.

"Forget it, you'll never guess who Trina and I met."

"Ooh, is it someone famous?" Cat questioned.

"Yes."

"Is it you?"

"What? Cat, no. It's Big Time Rush! Trina and I met Big Time Rush. They came to our apartment!" Tori exclaimed.

"No way! Wait, I thought you didn't like BTR."

"I never said I didn't like them, I said I've never really listened to their music." Tori explained.

"Oh, well are they as cute in person as they are in photos?"

"From what I've seen of them in photos, yes, they are extremely cute and sweet."

"That's so cool! I can't wait to tell everyone my best friend knows Big Time Rush!" Cat said excitedly.

"Cat, no, listen to me. You cannot tell anybody that I know BTR or that I stay at the Palm Woods. Do you understand?" Tori asked slowly.

"Yes."

"I'm serious, Cat. You can't tell anyone." Tori repeated.

"I understand."

"Cat, the last time you said that Andre, Robbie, Beck, Trina, and Jade joined us on the party bus that only we were supposed to know about." exasperated, Tori flopped down on the couch.

"Can I tell them?" Cat asked.

"I guess, but no one else!"

"Okay."

"Tori, let's go down to the pool." Trina said, standing at the door.

"I'll talk to you later, Cat." Tori told her friend.

"'Kay, 'kay."  
"Plan on looking for a new boy toy?" Tori asked her sister.

"Are you kidding? James and I had something special going on earlier, I'm not messing that up." Trina stated.

"You like James?"

"The boy is a god! I call dibs, so you can't have him!"

"Didn't want him." Tori sighed and made her way out the door.

Tori and Trina made their way down the hall and to elevator, where they once again were met with Kendall.

"Hello again." he smiled.

"Hey." Tori smiled back.

"Are you alone?" Trina questioned, looking around. Obviously she was hoping James was with him.

"Yep, just me." Kendall looked at her. "Were you expecting someone?"

"No. I'm going back to the apartment, Tori." Trina told her as she made her way back down the hall.

"But you're the one who wanted to go to the pool!" Tori shouted at her.

"Yeah, I changed my mind." she said before disappearing around the corner.

The elevator doors opened and Tori and Kendall stepped aside to let the people get by.

"You coming?" Kendall asked once he was in the elevator.

"Sure, where?" Tori asked, standing beside him.

"The Palm Woods park, or do you want me to take you on a little tour?"

"Whatever you want."

"To the park we go." Kendall said and pressed the button. He smiled at Tori and she smiled back before turning her head and blushing slightly.

* * *

They made their way through the hotel and outside. It was a nice change of scenery for Tori, who was getting bored with trying to decorate the apartment. She noticed that Kendall was well-liked at the hotel, receiving friendly looks and waves as the passed people.

"Someone's popular." Tori joked.

"I wouldn't say that."

"What would you say then?"

"I would say that living at this place for a few years has given me the chance to get to know people." he said.

"I guess that would be a way of putting it."

"So, tell me about yourself."

"There's nothing to really tell, I'm not interesting." Tori looked down at the ground, unable meet his gaze.

"Well, you're modest, that's a start. A very good one, I'd say."

"Okay, I live in the Hollywood Hills with my mom, dad, and Trina; I go to Hollywood Arts, a performing arts high school; I-"

"Have you always gone to a performing arts school?" Kendall interrupted.

"No, before that I went to Sherwood, just a regular high school."

"What made you decide to go to Hollywood Arts?"

"Trina was a student there and she was supposed to perform in a showcase, but she had an allergic reaction to a Chinese herb gargle and it made her tongue swell up, so I was forced to take her place." Tori stated.

"Forced?" Kendall asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I didn't want to, but my friend Andre, who was working with Trina, told everyone I was the only other person who knew how the performance went, so I really had no choice."

"Apparently you were great since you got into the school."

"I guess." Tori blushed once again. How does Kendall keep making her do that?

"You guess, you're an amazing performer!" he exclaimed.

"How would you know?" Tori looked back up at him.

"I umm, I looked you up." Kendall blushed, looking away. "I saw you on this website called The Slap."

"Oh, yeah. It's a website for people at my school."

"I enjoyed the 'Tori Takes Requests' videos." he smirked.

"Oh no, you watched those?" Tori buried her face in her hands.

"I thought they were funny Ms. Vega, or should I call you the Human Hamburger." Kendall joked.

"I officially don't like you."

"Yeah, you do." Kendall elbowed her.

"They're just for fun, because I obviously have no life."

"You're talented from what I watched, you did really great at the Platinum Music Awards."

"You're sweet." Tori told him.

"That I am." Kendall smirked and Tori rolled her eyes.

"Are we going to the park or what?" Tori questioned, picking up her pace.

"Yes, and slow down, I won't embarrass you anymore."

"I wasn't embarrassed." Tori said.

"Yeah, you were," Kendall grinned mischievously. "or does bringing up the fact that you use ointment embarrass you?"

Tori's eyes went wide as she started playfully hitting Kendall. Kendall laughed while trying to stop her eventually picking her up and spinning her around.

"Put me down!" Tori yelled, but not angrily.

"Are you gonna stop hitting me?" Kendall asked her.

"Maybe."

"Tori."

"Fine, I'll stop." she sighed and Kendall placed her down.

"Now, was that so hard?" he questioned, poking her in the stomach.

"Stop it." Tori told him, swatting at his hands.

"Hey Kendall." a voice interrupted.

"Oh, hey Lucy." Kendall smiled. "This is Tori. She's new here."

Lucy looked Tori up and down before saying, "You're that Tori Vegas girl I've been hearing about."

"Vega. Tori Vega, no 's'." Tori replied.

"Right, sorry."

"Where ya heading?" Kendall asked Lucy.

"I was heading back to my apartment for a lazy day." Lucy told him as she started walking again.

Kendall turned around before yelling, "We're headed to the park! Wanna come?"

"No, thanks!" Lucy yelled back.

"She was interesting."

"You'll get used to her. Now, where were we?"

"I believe we were on our way to the park." Tori responded in an English accent.

"Oh, right!" Kendall exclaimed, playing along. "After you Ms. Vega."

"Thank you Mr. Knight."

They looked at each other and laughed before continuing their walk.

* * *

Lying on his bed in the room he shares with Carlos, James sighed as he stared at the ceiling.

"Why can't I get her out of my head?" he asked himself.

Charming the ladies was something that usually came easy to him, but Tori Vega was different. As soon as his eyes connected with hers, it was like the entire world stopped. He couldn't even think of anything to say, besides asking her to come over to the apartment anytime she wanted. He was hoping she would actually take him up on that offer sometime soon.

"You should've asked her out or at least offered to show her around." he snapped at himself.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Logan asked as he walked in the room.

"What? No! I was…I was just…thinking out loud." James sputtered out.

"Sure." Logan replied. "Carlos and I are gonna go lounge by the pool for a while before we have to go, you wanna join?"

"I'm good, thanks." James flopped back down on the bed.

"Are you okay?" Logan asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, just tired." he replied.

"Well, rest up. Studio time in four hours." Logan told him as he walked out the room.

"Studio time." James repeated. Tori would be at the studio. That's the perfect time to ask her out, or invite her over.

Jumping off the bed, James ran to the closet to find something to wear. Of course he looks good 24/7, but today he had to make sure he looked extra good, just for Tori.

Maybe today's session with Gustavo wouldn't be so bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter three for you guys! I'll try to upload as often as I can since school has started back, but whenever I finish writing a chapter and proofread it, I'll have it posted. I still don't know how many chapters this might have, I'm just kind of going with the flow of things, but hopefully it'll all work out like I expect it to. Read on and enjoy!

* * *

The next four hours seem to fly by. Tori and Kendall got to know each other better, James got the perfect look ready for Tori, Trina got the perfect look ready for James, and Logan and Carlos…did nothing.

By the time 4:30 rolled around, Tori was more than excited to go to Rocque Records. Kendall offered her a ride, but Trina quickly denied for her telling Kendall she needed to talk to Tori.

"We can't talk for long. I don't wanna be late getting there, that makes me look bad." Tori told her.

"Then we'll talk as we make our way to the car." Trina said.

"What is it?" Tori asked.

"Did you spend the whole day with Kendall?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?"

Trina sighed. "You do realize he likes you, right?"

Tori looked at Trina with a confused expression. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, but after I got my look ready for James, I went walking around the hotel and ran into Katie."

"His little sister?"

"Yeah, she said that Kendall has a girlfriend." Trina stopped and looked at Tori, waiting for her response.

"Who? Jo? They broke up, she went to film a movie in New Zealand. He said he's single."

Trina rolled her eyes and started walking again. "Well, there's also a girl named Lucy who seems to have a crush on Kendall. She was here first Tori, I don't think you should go out with him."

"I barely know him Trina. I'm pretty sure he won't be asking me out anytime soon." Tori told her as she walked out of the hotel.

"All I'm saying is, you've got to be careful. She could easily ruin your reputation at the Palm Woods and make you life a living hell."

"Trina, I love you and I do appreciate that you care, but can we just focus on getting me to the studio?"

Trina sighed once again as she unlocked the doors to her car. "Fine."

* * *

"Nice to see you again." Kendall smirked when he greeted them.

Tori smiled and Trina shot her a look before dragging her away from Kendall to the other side of the room.

"That was rude." Tori whispered.

"I'm sorry, I had to do it." Trina whispered back.

Tori shot Kendall an apologetic look and he smiled back at her before taking a seat beside Carlos.

"Hey guys," Kelly greeted them as she walked out. "We're kind of in the middle of things, so it'll be a while."

"Yes!" the guys exclaimed.

"Tori Vega, nice to finally meet you." Kelly made her way over towards her and shook her hand. "Welcome to Rocque Records."

"Thank you." Tori smiled.

"Keep yourselves busy, but don't break anything."

"No promises!" the guys yelled back. Kelly rolled her eyes and stepped back into the room.

"Let's go play some hockey out front." Carlos suggested, patting the helmet on his head.

Logan nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"I'm up for it." James agreed. "You coming Kendall?"

"Not today, guys."

Carlos shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Trina, feel like playing a little bit?" James asked.

"I don't know how to play, but I'm sure you could teach me." she smiled.

"Yeah, no problem. I would've asked you Tori, but Gustavo and Kelly might need you." James said as he looked at her.

"It's cool." she smiled.

"Let's go!" Carlos yelled.

"Okay, okay. Calm down." Logan told him as they made their way outside.

"Why didn't you wanna play?" Tori asked Kendall once they were all out the door.

Kendall looked down at the floor bashfully. "I'm not up for it today and I was kinda hoping you would stay inside too."

Tori smiled. "Oh, well I was kind of glad you stayed. I liked talking to you earlier."  
Kendall looked back at her. "I did too. You seem different from most people around here. I like that."

"I'm taking that me being different is a good thing?"

"It's a great thing."

Here she goes blushing again.

"Thanks," she managed. "I like that you're different from what I've seen around here so far, too. You actually seem normal."

"I try to be."

"Good, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you." she joked.

"Yeah, you would."

Tori rolled her eyes before smiling at him. She knows she should probably listen to Trina, but she just can't seem to stay away from Kendall.

* * *

Walking out of the studio with Carlos, Logan, and Trina, James still couldn't help but get mad at himself for not staying behind or actually inviting Tori to come along. True, Gustavo could need her at any moment, but he could've at least attempted.

James Diamond. How can James Diamond not ask a girl out?

Tori was everything he could want in a girl. She was pretty, nice, and she seemed really humble, and smart. Plus, he thought that her high cheekbones made her look even more adorable than he thought was possible.

Then it hit him.

The fact that Kendall said he spent the whole afternoon with Tori. The way that she and Kendall looked at each other when she walked in, said a lot by itself. Then when Trina pulled her away and she gave Kendall that look almost as if to say "I'm sorry" and he smiled at her.

Kendall liked Tori.

The guys all agreed, after coming off their first world tour, to take girls off their 'Rules of Dibs' list. James now wishes that would've at least had lasted until Tori came, then he could go after her instead of Kendall. James doesn't want harm Kendall or force him to stay away from Tori, but James has to at least have an actual conversation with Tori and use the James Diamond charm on her.

"It's not too late." he whispered to himself while turning around and going back towards the studio.

"Where are you going, James?" Trina asked him.

"Bathroom, be right back." he lied, rushing into the building.

It seemed like perfect timing. When he walked in he was met face to face with Tori.

"Hey." he smiled.

"Finished already?" she asked him, tilting her head slightly upwards to meet his eyes.

"No, I just came in for a little bit." he looked at her and saw she didn't seem convinced. "I wanted to get some waters."

"Oh, great! I wanted a bottle, but I didn't know where to go." Tori looked around as if she was going to somehow find where to go.

"Follow me, I'll take you."

Tori smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"Why didn't Kendall show you?" James asked curiously.

"I told him I could find it on my own, I guess I was wrong."

"No worries, you're in the hands of James Diamond now. I'll get you to the water."

Tori giggled. "Do you always talk about yourself in the third person?"

James smiled at her. "Only when it's needed."  
Tori rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"You don't ever talk about yourself in the third person?" James asked seriously.

"Only when it's needed." Tori mocked.

James rolled eyes. "Haha, but seriously, do you?"

"No, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. I think only certain people can pull off talking in the third person. You're one of them."

"Thanks."

"Anytime, any other weird things about you I need to be aware of?" Tori looked up at him.

"I have an alter ego." he stated simply.

"An alter ego?" Tori asked in disbelief.

He smiled a little. "Yeah, Bandana Man."

"Remind me to not ask you anymore weird questions."

"You're the one who wanted to know."

Tori shrugged. "Touché."

* * *

By the time they made it to the break room and grabbed some water, they were having way too much fun with their random conversations. Tori found out more about James, much like she did with Kendall, and discovered that despite his egotistical demeanor, he's actually a really sweet guy.

"There you are." Kendall said as he walked in. "I thought you got lost."

"I was, but James showed me how to get here and we started talking."

Kendall looked at James. "Weren't you playing hockey?"

"You're right, I was, but like Tori said we started having a really good conversation so playing hockey was forgotten." James shrugged like it was nothing.

"I thought you were gonna teach Trina how to play."

"Logan and Carlos can handle it."

The room broke into silence as Kendall and James stared at each other intently. Tori figured they were just messing around and they were going to break out into a laugh, but when that didn't happen she decided to speak up.

"Are you two okay?" she asked carefully, trying not to make either one madder than they already seemed.

"Yep." James replied.

"Just fine." Kendall said, still staring at James.

"Well, could you stop that. You're kind of freaking me out." Tori said.

That did the trick, they both immediately looked at Tori and were ready to apologize.

Tori put up her hand. "Save it, it's okay. I just found it a little weird."

"That's our fault. We want you to feel comfortable around us." Kendall placed his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

Tori stared back in his, but she could feel James' gaze on them so she looked down at the water bottle in her hands. "Anyway," she said as she walked away from Kendall. "can one of you tell me where the bathroom is?"

"Yeah, just go out the door, make a left and you're there." James told her.

"Thanks. I shouldn't get lost this time." she joked as she walked out of the room.

"What the hell was that all about?" James asked one Tori was gone.

Kendall smirked at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." James stated. "You like Tori, don't you?"

"You're gonna tell me that you don't?"

"No, I'm just saying maybe you should go for someone else."

Kendall stepped a little closer to James and looked at him. "You could have any girl at the Palm Woods, I think you'll live if Tori doesn't go out with you."

"How is Jo, by the way?" James asked with a smug smile.

"Fuck you, man!" Kendall yelled.

"All I'm saying is you seem so confident that Tori would go out with you, how about we both ask her out."

"Works for me. Just try not to feel too bad when she turns you down." Kendall said as he walked out the room.

"I'm James Diamond! If she's gonna say no to someone, it's gonna be you!"

"Whatever." Kendall yelled as he walked down the hall.

No matter what it takes, James will get Tori to go out with him. Even if that does mean he has to make a complete fool of himself to do so.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **So, I pretty much know where to take the story from here. Before, I was just going with whatever my mind came up, but now I know exactly what I want to do. I'm not sure how much I'll include the rest of the Victorious cast, but they will be making some appearances, or at least their name will come up, but for most of the story it'll only be Tori and Trina. I hope that's okay with everyone, I just don't know how to include the others in the story. I feel like I'm rambling, so yeah, enjoy!

* * *

When Tori got back to the break room, she was surprised to only see James there.

"Where's Kendall?" she asked looking around. "You didn't kill him did you?"

"No, he went back upstairs." James said taking a seat at the small table.

"Oh, are you positive you two are okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. So, tell me more about you."

"You know about Hollywood Arts and The Slap, you know the basic weird facts about me, you know a little about my personal life, there's nothing left to really tell." Tori frowned.

"Sure, there is! How about music, what style of music are you looking forward to doing?" James questioned.

Tori grinned. "I really like pop music, being a pop artist would be great."

"So would I. When the band ends, I definitely wanna go solo and sing more pop."

Tori smirked. "Looking forward to the band ending?" she teased as she sat across from him.

"Of course not. It's not everyday you get to work with your best friends."

"True, I would love it if my friends got to work with me."

"Even that mean one you were talking about?" he asked as he took a sip of his water.

Tori nodded. "Jade may be a little mean, but if it wasn't for her I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Even if you were supposed to originally perform there first?"

"Yeah, even if. Jade's not always nice to me, so for her to do that it was huge. I don't even know how to repay her."

James got quiet before saying, "You should invite her to the studio. Maybe you could talk Gustavo into letting you record a duet together."

"That's actually a great idea. I'm sure even Jade would appreciate that, even if she doesn't admit it."

"See, I'm not just good looking I can be smart sometimes too."

"That's a given." Tori laughed. "Smart and good looking, you've got it all."

"That's what James Diamond is all about."

"Okay, you seriously need to work on not talking in the third person." Tori told him.

"I'll think about it."

* * *

Kendall sat alone on one of the couches, thinking about the Tori situation. He could easily ask her out, sure James would be mad, but he would also get over it. He _is_ James Diamond after all. Any girl at the Palm Woods, hell, any girl in the world would love to go out with him. Plus, what could James and Tori possibly talk about? I'm sure listening to stories about Cuda Products would grow old after a while. Which is why Kendall's gonna do it…maybe.

"No matter what, he'll still be my friend." he tried to reassure himself.

James wouldn't let a girl get come in between their friendship. When Jo first moved to the Palm Woods, it was Kendall who ultimately got her, and they were all still good friends. Yeah, Lucy may or may not have (she won't confirm it, although she did wink at him) a crush on him, but James also doesn't know about that possible crush.

The ultimate question is should he actually go for it?

Tori seems like Kendall's type and he really needs to move on and have an actual girlfriend since Jo isn't coming back anytime soon.

"I can do this." he got up and paced around the room. "She'll say yes."

It doesn't hurt to ask and she could always say no, which he really hopes she doesn't. Even if it's just one date, it's something. He knows they have some sort of connection and he's willing to see if she feels the same.

He sat down before saying, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her out."

He only hopes that he won't lose James as a friend over it.

* * *

"There you are!" Logan exclaimed when he walked into the break room with Carlos and Trina. "We thought you were coming back?"

"I was, but Tori and I started talking and I got distracted." James shrugged as if it were nothing.

"I was looking forward to you teaching me hockey." Trina pouted.

"Hey!" Logan and Carlos exclaimed, shooting her a look.

Trina smiled. "But I was also happy to learn from these two, it was fun."

Carlos flopped down in one of the chairs. "Surprisingly, she's a really good player. If we play again soon, I want her on my team."

Tori looked at him in disbelief. "She's actually _that_ good?"

"She's amazing." Logan answered.

"See, I can play sports."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Never said you couldn't."

"Where's Kendall?" Carlos asked.

"Upstairs." James replied.

"I'll be right back." Tori said as she walked out of the room.

"That's what James said and he never came back!" Logan yelled out the door.

"I'm coming back, I promise." she laughed, continuing around the corner.

She made her way upstairs, stopping outside the door when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Vega, are you at the hotel?" she heard Jade ask.

"No, I'm at the studio. Why?"

"We're all out and decided to pay you a visit."

"Sorry, take a rain check. I don't know when I'll be back." Tori told her as she leaned against the wall.

"Too bad, we're already here. We'll just wait, but not all night so hurry up!" Jade yelled.

"You can't rush her, Jade." Tori heard Beck say in the background.

"Was I talking to you? No, I don't think I was. Hurry up, Vega!" she yelled once again before hanging up.

"Gank." Tori muttered to herself.

"Good, I thought you would be up here." Trina said as she came around the corner.

"Yeah, I was coming to get Kendall. Is that a problem?"

"Tori, trust me, if you go in there he's gonna ask you out."

"I can always say no, Trina."

Trina looked at her. "Will you?"

Tori remained silent, thinking about it. "No, probably not." she admitted.

"Exactly, so let me go get him."

"No, I'm not gonna hide just because you think that going out with him will cause some sort of problem."

"As your older sister, I know what's best." Trina told her.

"Sorry. If he asks me out, he asks me out. I'm not gonna stop him from doing that." Tori said as she opened the door.

Trina shrugged. "You'll be sorry." she told Tori as she left to go back to the break room.

"Hey." Tori smiled at Kendall.

Kendall smiled softly. "Hey."

"Logan, Carlos, and Trina just came back in and we're all hanging out in the break room, wanna join?"

"Sure." Kendall got off the couch.

They started walking in a somewhat awkward silence, stealing subtle glances at each other out the corner of their eyes. As they got close to the break room, Kendall decided it was now or never.

"Before we go in, can I ask you something?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, of course."

"I know we've only known each other for a few hours, but I've really enjoyed having you around and talking to you, so I was wondering if you would like to go out sometime?" he said hurriedly, before stopping and waiting for her answer like his life depended on it.

"Before I answer, you have to do one thing for me." she said.

He nodded quickly. "Sure, anything."

"Breathe." she told him.

Kendall let out the breath he was holding. "Okay, done."

"Now, I would love to go out with you." Tori smiled at him.

"Really?"

"Really. I've had a lot of fun with you today and you're really nice, so I think going on a date would be really great."

"Awesome, after you meet with Gustavo and figure out what days you have to come in the studio, we can pick a day to go out."

"Great."

Kendall smiled really big. "Now that I got that off my chest, let's go in."

"Sounds good."

* * *

They all hung out in the break room, the guys getting to know a little more about Tori and Trina and vice versa. It was as if they've all been friends for a really long time instead of people who had just met hours before. They were all having such a good time, that even Tori was bummed when Kelly told them it was time to start working.

Tori learned that the guys were right when they said Gustavo wasn't the nicest guy in the world, though he was a lot nicer to her than he was to them. Tori assumed that it's because she's new and also because she's a girl.

They worked out a schedule for the rest of the week. Tori getting the weekends off and coming into the studio to record and write some demos every Monday-Friday. Gustavo made sure that Tori understood that if the demo doesn't get picked up, she would be sent back to Hollywood Arts, and her dream of working at Rocque Records would be ruined. That made her nervous, but the boys and Trina comforted her, telling her that she would do great and easily become an official member of the Rocque Records family.

By the time she was done at the studio, it was 7:30 and she was sure that Jade and the rest of her friends had left. But as soon as she sent Jade a text, one immediately came back that read: "still here, hurry up!"

Logan, Carlos, Kendall, and Trina walked ahead as they made their way out the building, James trailing behind so he could talk to Tori privately.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Tori asked him.

"I know this is probably a little soon, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime?" James smiled brightly.

Tori frowned, feeling extremely bad for the answer she was about to give him. "James, I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong, you're an amazing guy, but Kendall already asked me out and I told him yes."

James' smile faded immediately, as he put his hands in his pockets and looked down at the ground. "That's cool, no big deal."

"James, really I'm-"

"No, it's okay. I understand." he cut her off. "Kendall's great, you'll have fun."

"I really am sorry." Tori told him.

"Don't be." he said as he walked passed everyone and out the building.

Trina told the rest of the guys she'll see them at the hotel and walked to where Tori was standing. "What was that all about?"

Tori snapped out of the trance she was in. "Nothing, let's go. Jade's starting to grow really impatient."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, and I'm going out with Kendall." she decided to admit.

"Of course. I guess it'll be okay." Trina sighed.

"It will be, he's really nice."

"I know, but not everyone is nice Tori. Remember that."

Tori sighed as she and Trina made their way to the car, the image of James' smile turning into a frown when she told him no still in her mind. Maybe a few hours with her friends can make her forget how upset he looked and how bad she felt.

* * *

When they drove into the parking lot, Tori immediately spotted Beck's RV and made her way over there once they were parked. She knocked on the door, before Jade swung it open, nearly hitting her in the face.

"About time!" she yelled, walking past her.

"Tori!" Andre greeted her with a hug. "How's Miss Hollywood doing?"

"Not Miss Hollywood yet, I still have to get my demo picked up."

"That's not gonna be a problem for you. Before you know it, everyone in the world will know your name."

Tori smiled at him. "I hope so."

"Yay, Tori!" Cat exclaimed, hugging her.

"Hi, Cat."

"I told you I wouldn't tell anyone but them." Cat smiled proudly.

Tori couldn't help but laugh at Cat's happiness over proving her wrong. "I guess you can keep some secrets." Robbie walked out behind her and Tori stopped to look at him. "Are you really bringing Rex in with you?"

"Yes, he wanted to see the Palm Woods." Robbie stated.

"And the ladies." Rex commented.

"Fine, just please don't embarrass me." Tori pleaded.

"Look at him," Rex started. "He's an embarrassment all by himself."

"Hey!" Robbie shouted at him.

"Tori Vega," Beck said as he walked out the RV and closing the door behind him. "I don't even know what to say."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, I'm just at a lost for words. You're staying at the Palm Woods and you have a record deal. And they say dreams can't come true."

Tori sighed. "If my demo doesn't get picked up, then my dream will be ruined."

"Don't worry about that, you're gonna be fine." Beck smiled at her, placing both hands on her shoulders.

Jade rolled her eyes. "Can we go in already? We've been waiting for hours!"

"Yeah, let's go."

Tori walked into the lobby with her friends and she saw Trina talking to the guys, before she made her way over to them.

"Hey Tori's friends." she greeted them.

"We've been through this already, I'm not really her friend." Jade told her as she sat on a couch.

"I thought we were done with this Jade!"

"We are, I just felt the need to say something rude." Jade smiled wickedly.

"Is that Big Time Rush?" Robbie asked.

"Yep, and we know them. I know Big Time Rush. Me. Not you, but me." Trina gloated.

"Can we meet them?" Cat asked, bouncing up and down slightly.

Trina looked at Tori. "Can they meet them?"

"I don't see why not." Tori said as she made her way over to them. She looked at James, noticing that he won't make eye contact with her and she sighed. "Hey guys."

"Ms. Vega." Kendall smiled at her.

"These are my friends I was telling you about earlier."

"Hi." Cat greeted them, smiling.

"By the red hair, I'm guessing you're Cat?" Logan asked her.

"Oh my God, I am! I am Cat!" Cat said excitedly.

Tori rolled her eyes. "And this is Beck, Andre, Robbie, and-"

"Jade, as in the one who got Vega here in the first place."

"Did I mention she's so pleasant to be around?" Tori asked sarcastically.

"Shut it, Vega!" Jade glared at her.

"Nice to meet you." Carlos said and stared at her.

"What?" Jade snapped at him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like Heather Fox?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Yes, and I hate that."

"Okay, how about a tour around the hotel?" Tori asked, changing the subject.

"Sounds good to me." Andre said.

"Mind if we join?" Kendall asked.

"Of course not." Tori smiled at him.

James rolled his eyes. "Figures." he said under his breath.

"Great, then let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **So, here we are at chapter 5 of this love triangle story. This may not be what people want or what they were expecting to happen with this whole James/Tori/Kendall thing, but that was my point. I don't want something that people can predict, I want to write something that keeps people guessing and wanting to read. I have ideas pop up in my head all the time for this story, but I never really use them because they're too predictable. Anyway, the date chapter should be next along with some other things. If you have any questions or ever want to know about the updates, feel free to PM me or ask me on my Tumblr (vicmazzy). Enjoy!

* * *

Tori manages to hang out with her friends for two hours before they have to leave. They exchange goodbyes then she and Trina make their way back over to where the guys are.

"They're really cool." Carlos says when Tori and Trina take a seat in the lounge with them.

"You're being nice, I know my friends are weird."

"No, really. They all seem like really cool people, even Jade."

"Jade is _not_ cool, she's evil." Trina remarks.

Tori hits Trina's arm softly. "She means well…I think."

"It's after nine, no loitering in the lobby!" Bitters yells at them.

"I think it's time to call it a day." Logan says as he stands up and stretches.

Kendall stands up and does the same. "Agreed."

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." Carlos waves at them as they make their way over to the elevator.

"I have to go get something out the car, I'll be up soon." Trina tells Tori.

"Okay." Tori glances in James' direction, noting that he still won't even look at her. He's staring out the window seeming as if he's deep in thought. Tori walks over to him, hoping to get back on his good side. "Hi."

"Hey." he mutters.

"Can we please talk about this thing?"

"There's nothing that I want to talk about. You're going out with Kendall and that's great. Why can't we leave it at that?"

"Because you're upset or mad, I don't know which. I don't want you to be mad at me." Tori explains.

"I'm not mad."

"Then you're upset and that's not any better. Please, can we just talk about this whole situation?"

"I've got to go." James tells her before walking over to where the guys are at. Kendall makes eye contact with Tori and she gives him a small smile.

"You okay?" he mouths.

"Yeah." she mouths back, then pulls out her phone to update her profile on The Slap.

_It's been an EXTREMELY long day, but I met some cool people. I don't think I'm in good graces with one of them, but I can change that…I hope._

_**Mood:**__ hopeful_

* * *

"I still hate our apartment." Trina comments when she closes the door.

"We can focus on that some other day. I just wanna focus on going to bed." Tori says, walking towards her room.

"What's with your status on The Slap?" Trina yells.

Tori freezes, suddenly remembering that Trina is capable of reading her statuses on her profile. "Nothing."

"Which one of the guys is mad at you?" Trina presses.

"Forget about it Trina, it's just a big misunderstanding."

"How can you piss one of them off already? We just got here!"

Tori sighs. "I'm going bed."

Truthfully, Tori would want nothing more than to tell Trina about the whole situation in hopes of getting some good advice, but since Trina likes James and doesn't know that James likes Tori, she's going to keep it to herself. For now, all Tori wants is to go to bed and forget about everything.

* * *

"James!" Kendall yells as the pretty boy makes his way to his room. "Can we talk for a minute."

Rolling his eyes before turning around, James sighs. "About what?"

"You know what." Kendall tells him as he pushes him inside his and Logan's shared room. "Did this whole Tori thing piss you off?"

"No, I'm tired and I want to go to bed. So if you don't mind." he responds getting ready to exit. Kendall quickly gets off his bed and blocks the door.

"We're not done."

"Kendall, move."

Kendall sighs and pushes him back gently. "Dude, I know you think Tori is cute and all, but I really don't see the whole point of getting mad over it. I know you wanted to ask her out, but I had to go for it."

"And why was that exactly?"

"Because, you can get any girl you absolutely want. Not all of us can do that. I knew that if you asked her out first she would've said yes, so I wanted to make sure I at least had a chance. I honestly didn't expect her to say yes."

James scoffs. "Really? You spend the whole afternoon with her and you didn't expect for her to say yes?"

"You got Aubrey Stewart to go to prom with you, how in the world can I possibly compete with a guy who did that?"

"Fine, I see your point."

"Listen, I can always tell Tori we shouldn't go out and just stay friends, if it'll make this all better." Kendall tries to reason.

"No, don't do that." James tells him sitting down on the edge of Logan's bed. "You should go out with her."

"I'm sorry, I should do what?" Kendall asks genuinely confused by James' sudden change of heart.

"You two might actually have something, I don't wanna ruin that if there's something there. So, you should go out with her."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Go out, have fun, just don't rub it in my face when you get back home."

Kendall chuckles. "Of course not. Thanks, man."

"Yeah, yeah. Like you said, I can always find someone else to go out with."

"I think Trina likes you."

"I think so, too. I'm not sure how to feel about that, she seems a little…"

"Crazy." Kendall finishes.  
"That works, but I guess there's no harm in asking her out."

"That's the spirit."

James rolls his eyes. "I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight, and again, thanks."

"Never say I didn't do anything nice for you, Kendall."

"Yeah, yeah. I won't"

* * *

The next morning, Tori decided to wake up extra early to be one of the first ones down at the pool. She tip-toed out the apartment, making sure to not wake Trina, and headed towards the elevator. Walking through the lobby, she smiled at Bitters (who only gave her an unwelcoming look before disappearing in his office) and headed through the doors. When she walked out, she was surprised to see James outside as well. Immediately sliding down her sunglasses, she made her way to the opposite side of the pool.

"You can sit over here." James told her.

Tori turned around. "What?"

"I said you can sit over here."

"Are you sure?" she asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Yeah."

"Okay, thanks."

They sat in an awkward silence for ten minutes, not knowing what to say to each other. Occasionally, Tori would look at him through the side of her sunglasses, noticing him doing the same to her. Finally getting tired of the quietness, James decided to break the silence.

"Any idea where you and Kendall are gonna go for your date?"

It took Tori a moment to process an answer, James coming out of the blue with the question and with that question at that. "No, we haven't even decided what day we're gonna go out."

"This Saturday would be good. We have the day off and you do too, so that would work for you both."

"Are you feeling okay?" Tori asked.

"I'm great. Why?"

"You actually _want_ Kendall and I to go out? I thought you were upset about all of this."

"I was, but Kendall and I talked about it and I think you two should go out."

Tori put her sunglasses back on top of her head and looked at James. "Wow, that's really sweet of you."

"Kendall is one of my best friend's and he did ask you out first, so I'll back off."

"Smart, good looking, and sweet. You really do have it all, James Diamond." Tori joked.

James smiled, finally looking at her. "Yeah, it's good to be me."

They both laughed before James stood up.

"Leaving already?"

"Going for a swim, care to join?" he asked her.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." she replied, sliding off her sandals and sitting on the edge of the pool.

James dived in, making a splash before he resurfaced. "You do know that swimming means you actually have to get in the pool?"

"Give me a second."

"Okay." James replied with a smirk. "Second's up!" he yelled as he pulled Tori in.

Tori screamed as she sank to the bottom. When she reached the surface again, she turned and splashed James. "Why did you do that?"

James laughed. "You said give you a second."

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Tori said as she wiped the water from her face.

"I know, but I couldn't resist."

"I take that comment about you being sweet back."

"No, you don't. You're just mad because I got you." James splashed her back.

"Don't worry, I'll find a way to get you back."

"Not possible."

Tori smiled. "So, you told me you love to use Cuda products. It would be a shame if something ever happened to them."

James' face turned serious. "No one touches my Cuda."

"No one except moi."

"You don't have the guts to do it."

"Or do I? I'm full of surprises, James."

"Hey." a voice greeted them.

"Hey, Katie." James said. "This is Tori, she's-"

"The new girl everyone is talking about, I know. I'm Katie-"

"Kendall's little sister, he told me about you." Tori smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

"What are you doing up so early?" James asked.

"Well, I've decided to spend my day doing nothing but kicking back and relaxing. What better way to do that than the pool?" Katie explains as she takes a seat in one of the chairs.

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"I had to reserve my seat, so I decided to get up early. If I ever have to leave for a moment, Buddha Bob will watch it for me."

"Buddha Bob?" Tori questions.

"The Palm Woods handyman." Katie answers.

"Oh."

"What about you two, why are you up so early?" Katie asks them.

"I never got to come down to the pool yesterday, so I decided to come early while there aren't many people." Tori tells her.

"And I just wanted to chill by the pool for a while."

"Well, don't mind me. I'm just gonna act as if no one is here all day." Katie pulls her earbuds out her pocket and places them in her ear as the music starts playing.

"Okay, then." James says. "Wanna do some laps?"

"Sure, but I'm going to let you know now, you're gonna lose."

"Dream on, no one has ever beat me."

"That ends today, Diamond. You're gonna get your butt kicked by a girl."

James laughs dramatically. "We'll see about that."

They swim for about an hour and they call it quits with Tori beating James in the end. They sit on the edge and talk for a while before Tori decides she wants to go take a shower. They say their goodbyes and James take a seat in the chair beside Katie.

"You like her."

"What?" James asks.

"Tori, you like her."

"Yeah, so?"

Katie sighs. "Listen, I know about the whole situation with you and Kendall. Even though you said you'll back off, you don't mean it. You really want everything to go terrible so you can ask Tori out yourself. Am I right or wrong?"

"Katie, I'll admit it, I do like Tori and it would've been great if she said no to Kendall, but she didn't. They seem to really hit it off yesterday and I can't do anything about it."

"Just remember this, James. You may be like a big brother to me, but Kendall actually _is_ my brother. You hurt him and I'll hurt you."

James sits back in the chair. "Yeah, I know."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **I know I said that this was going to be the date chapter, but it just didn't feel right posting it without giving a "background" chapter, if you will. I promise the date chapter is next. Also, I apologize for taking a while to post, but school has been killing me and I needed to get some things done with that before I could start with writing. No worries, I'll try to keep things running smoothly in school just because I love writing and I love this story so I want to update as much as possible. From previous chapters, you know where to find me if you have any questions, but I warn you that I don't log onto Tumblr a lot. Anyway, enjoy the story!

* * *

"Where have you been?" Trina asks Tori when she walks through the door.

Tori makes a face at her sister, trying to figure out how she's completely oblivious to the fact that Tori just came from the pool. "The pool," she starts. "can't you tell?"

"Didn't notice." Trina remarks.

"I honestly don't know what's wrong with you sometimes."

"There's nothing wrong with me. I'm perfect."

Tori rolls her eyes. "Far from it, my dear sister."

"Whatever. Did you go to the pool with Kendall?"

"No, actually I went by myself. James was down there, so we kind of hung out for a while. Katie showed up, but she was more interested in lounging than anything else."

"So, if you hung out with James, then he isn't the one who hates you, right?"

Tori sighs. "Can we please forget about that post? I should go delete it!"

"I just wanna know which one is mad at you."

"James! It was James, okay?"

"Why?"

"It was a misunderstanding, but that's all water under the bridge, can we forget about it?"

"Fine." Trina says as she goes through the fridge. "It was nice of Cat and everybody to bring us some groceries, don't you think?"

"Totally, I'm even surprised Jade bought something. Although, I am afraid to eat it."

"Think she poisoned it?"

"Probably." Tori laughed. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Okay!" Trina yells.

While Tori's in the shower, she manages to fix herself some breakfast (without burning the apartment down), get a ten minute work done, and try to figure out how to make the apartment less hideous, but of course without proper decorations, she doesn't get much done.

"I hate this stupid apartment." she mumbles. "You're so ugly!" she yells at the wall.

She continues to rearrange the furniture before she hears a knock on the door.

"It's open!" she yells.

"Hey." James greets her as he walks in.

Trina whips her head around. "James, what're you doing here?"  
"I was in the hall, thought I should stop by."

"Well, you're always welcomed." she smiles.

"Thanks. I actually had something I wanted to ask you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, this might be a little out of the blue, but would you like to go out sometime?" he asks.

"Me?"

"You."

"Oh. My. Gosh. I need to sit down." she sits down on the couch trying to catch her breath.

"Is that a no?" James asks, a little bit confused.

"No, it's a yes! Yes, I would love to go out with you!" she exclaims.

He smiles. "Great, how about Saturday night?"

"Saturday's perfect."

"Awesome, can't wait." he smiles one more time before making his way out of the apartment.

As soon as she thinks he's a good way away from the apartment, Trina screams at the top of her lungs and jumps up and down.

"What is going on?" Tori asks as she runs into the living room.

"James Diamond just asked me out!" she says before screaming again.

"Trina, calm down."

"I can't calm down. Did you not hear me?"

"Yes, I heard you. Everyone in the Palm Woods heard you. Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Are you insane? It's a huge deal!"

Tori rolls her eyes. "You want to explain to me why?"

"Because it's James Diamond. He could ask anyone in this hotel out and he chose me! I can't wait to tell everybody."

"Trina, no. We can't post about anything that goes on here."

"You posted about them last night."

"But I didn't use their names."

"Then I won't use his. I'll just say a really hot guy asked me out."

Tori smirks. "You do realize you post statuses like that so much that no one will believe you, right?"

"Who cares? When you become famous, James and I will be Hollywood's teen power couple and then everyone at Hollywood Arts will always wish that they had been nicer to me."

"You're delusional."

"It could happen."

"I'm gonna go finish drying my hair, try not to break any glass when you scream."

"No problem."

* * *

James walked to the Palm Woods with a satisfied smile on his face. Yes, he's willing to give Trina a shot, but he's more interested in taking her out Saturday because he secretly plans to take her to the same place Kendall takes Tori. It's kind of low, but at the moment he can't seem to care.

"What are you so happy about?" Camille asks him.

"Nothing, that's important." he responds.

"If you say so. Would you be willing to run lines with me today?"

"Where's Logan?"

"He said he had to study." she rolls her eyes. "I asked Kendall, but he said he had plans and Carlos…well, you know Carlos."

"Sure. I guess it wouldn't hurt. It's not a romance movie is it?" he asked, trying to avoid the mishap the last time him and Camille did a love scene together.

"No, I'm never rehearsing a love scene with you ever again. You'll just kiss me."

James scoffs. "_You_ kissed _me_. I'm the innocent, pretty one in this situation."

"Are you calling me ugly?"

"No, I'm just stating the obvious. Are you gonna honestly tell me I'm not good looking?"

"You're so conceited."

"But you want my help."

"Whatever. Just stop by my place at four."

"I'll be there." he waves goodbye as he goes to look for Kendall. He's determined to find out where he's taking Tori for their date. The sooner he knows, the better.

After ten minutes of searching around the hotel, he finally finds him in the Palm Woods park talking to Lucy. He struts over to them and places his hands on the back of the bench that they're sitting on.

"Hey, James." Lucy greets him.

"Hey. What're you two doing?"

"I was helping Lucy with a song that she's been writing."

Lucy smiles at Kendall. "And we managed to complete it. I have to get going, though."

"Plans?" James asks.

"Something like that. I'll see you guys later. Thanks again, Kendall."

"Anytime." Kendall smiles at her.

Once Lucy is far enough away, James feels the need to ask, "Does she know about Tori?"

"It didn't come up. _Should_ she know about Tori?"

"I know you think I don't realize it, but it's kind of obvious she has a crush on you."

"She's just nice."

James rolls his eyes. "I of all people know when girls like a guy. Kendall, she likes you."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm going out with Tori."

"Have you decided when you two are going out?"

"Not yet, we haven't talked about it."

He smiles to himself. "Well, I was talking to Tori this morning and she said Saturday would be a good day since you're both free."

"That would be a good day. I don't know where to take her." Kendall frowns.

"Nowhere too fancy, she doesn't seem like the type of person to be impressed by something like that. A simple dinner and a movie date would work." he offers.

Kendall sits and thinks about that. "I think I might take you up on that. We could go see a movie and then go out to dinner, at least it'll give us something to talk about."

"Exactly! Now you're thinking, buddy." James pats him on the back.

"I guess I should go tell her."

"Let her pick the movie, though. You never know what she might want to see and your first fight shouldn't be over something stupid like a movie."

"Right. Thanks!" he yells as he runs off towards the hotel.

James sits back on the bench, his satisfied smile growing wider. He feels a pang of guilt, but he can't bring himself to care a whole lot. If he can't go out with Tori himself, he can at least spy on her when she's on her date. He hopes she and Kendall won't see him or that Trina sees them or notices him spying on them, if that happens, his whole plan would be ruined.

"It won't happen," he tells himself. "I won't get caught."

He runs his fingers through his hair trying to get rid of the guilt that seems to be taking over more and more of him.

"It's just making sure your friends are having fun. Just like I did with Carlos and Red Dress Jennifer." he sighs. "No big deal."

* * *

Tori's sitting on her bed, with her earbuds in, listening to music while absent-mindedly playing with the charm bracelet Andre got her for her birthday. She starts singing out loud, unaware of Kendall's presence in her door frame. He smiles and listens to her for a little bit before sitting down on the edge of her bed. Tori jumps a little bit as she takes out her earbuds out and turns around and smiles at him.

"You scared me." she pouts.

"Sorry." he smiles.

"What's up?"

"I came to ask you out…officially."

Tori smiles softly. "Okay, then. Ask away."

"Tori Vega, would you like to go out with me on Saturday?"

"I would love to go out with you on Saturday."

Kendall smiles hugely. "Great! I thought maybe we could go see a movie and then go out for dinner."

"Sounds perfect. What movie are we seeing?"

"I thought I'd let you pick." he tells her, taking James' advice.

"Oh, well, there's this really funny comedy movie some of my friends were telling me about."

"Sounds awesome."

"Great, how about you pick where we go for dinner."

"Have you ever heard of this place called Nozu?" Kendall asks her.

"Yeah, me and my friends go there all the time. I love that place."

"So, should we go there?"

"That'd be great. I can't wait." she smiles.

Kendall's phone lights up and he sees he has a text from Carlos. "I would really love to stay, but Carlos lost his helmet and if he doesn't find it, he'll destroy the entire hotel."

"No worries."

"Bye." he leans over to give her a hug.

"See you later." she hugs him and gives him a quick peck on the cheek before they pull away from each other.

Kendall feels his cheeks reddening and immediately feels embarrassed. "Yeah, later you see." he shakes his head, feeling even more embarrassed. "I mean, see you later."

Tori giggles. "Bye."

Kendall turns and walks out her room with a smile on his face. It may not have been the kiss he's dying for, but it's something and definitely something that he wants more of.

* * *

Later on, Tori's sitting in the apartment by herself watching TV. Trina decided to go out shopping to find an outfit to wear on her date with James, but since Tori didn't want to spend hours watching Trina try on the same outfit on in various colors, she decided to stay behind.

After a while she grows bored of being in the apartment alone and decides to take the guys up on the offer of going over to their place. She figures Kendall is probably still helping Carlos look for his helmet since he never came back over, but James or Logan should be home.

She turns off the TV and slides on her shoes before she heads to their apartment. She knocks on the door lightly and waits for an answer. When she doesn't hear one, she knocks a little harder before the door opens with a not-so-happy looking Logan.

"Um, hi. I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" she asks him, feeling bad for disturbing him.

Logan's expression softens and he opens the door wider. "No, just doing a little studying. Come on in."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I could use a break." he smiles.

Tori smiles back at him shyly and walks in the apartment. "Wow, you guys weren't kidding when you said you fixed up your apartment."

"Well, it wasn't supposed to look like this."

"It wasn't."

"We had this music video, that was going to be filmed somewhere else, but with a few phone calls and a little bit of help, we got everything to be set up here."

"And it wasn't a problem."

"Gustavo wasn't happy about it. After we filmed the video, he had everything taken down."

"So how did you get it back."

"We came back home one day and everything was back. He said he was giving his 'dogs' a 'bone'." he rolls his eyes.

Tori smiles. "Do you guys actually like being called 'dogs'."

"It's grown on us."

"Do you think I'll ever be able to get my apartment like this?"

"If you have anything to do with it, yes. He actually seems to like you."

Tori smiles. "Really? I thought that, but I wasn't really sure."

Logan nods. "Trust me, that's one of the very few times I have actually seen Gustavo act like a nice person."

"That makes me feel better about going back into the studio."

"You should stay. It would be awesome to work with you one day."

"Definitely." she agrees as she takes a seat on the orange couch. "What exactly were you studying?"

"A little bit of everything. I tend to focus more on what the guys call 'boring' subjects."

"So, you actually are a bookworm, so to speak."

"Yes, and I appreciate you not calling me a nerd."

"You actually seem to cool to be a nerd."

Logan chuckles. "Thanks, that's the first time I've ever heard that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, you should hear it more often. You actually are cool."

"I think otherwise, but it is appreciated." he smiles.

"Changing the subject just because I'm curious, do you have a girlfriend?" Tori asks.

Logan smirks. "I thought you were going out with Kendall."

"I'm not trying to flirt with you, I was just asking."

"Something like that. It's more of an on-again, off-again relationship."

"Does she live here?"

"Yeah, her name's Camille. You'll probably end up meeting her sometime this week."

Tori nods her head. "Is there anything I should know about her?"

"She's really dramatic. And when I say really, I mean really."

"But she's also normal, right?"

"She can be."

"She sounds interesting, I can't wait to meet her. Are you guys on now or off?"

"As of now, we're on. We were off when I came back from touring, then we were on, then soon after we were back off, and a little after that we were back on." he explains.

"This relationship sounds tiring."

"You don't know the half of it, my friend."

The door opens and James walks through with his earbuds in, completely oblivious to the fact that Tori and Logan are there. He walks into the kitchen, still bopping his head to the music, and grabs a bottle of water before turning around and noticing Tori and Logan.

"Oh, hey." he greets them.

"Hey, man." Logan responds.

"Hi." Tori smiles.

"I'm glad you're here," he tells Tori. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I'll try not to be bothered by the fact that you didn't want to talk to me." Logan says sarcastically.

"We talk all the time." James tells him.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going in my room to do some more studying. It was nice talking to you, Tori."

"Likewise." Tori tells him. Once he's gone she looks at James, who's still standing in the kitchen. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I asked Trina out."

"I know, she told me. Actually she screamed it, but still, I was told."

"Yeah, I'm taking her out on Saturday."

"Good luck trying to find somewhere fun to go with her. Trina can be a handful."

"She doesn't like simple dates?" he asks.

"With you, she would do it just because you're you. If it was anyone else, they would have to go all out."

"That should be no problem either way." he tells her. "Do you know where you and Kendall are going."

"To the movies and then we're having dinner at Nozu." she smiles.

He makes mental note of that before responding. "Sounds like fun."

"I know, I love that it's not so over-the-top. I like going out with guys who keep things simple, it's nice to go all out every now and then, but I like being able to be laidback."

"I completely understand."

"Anyway, don't stress over your date with Trina. She is complicated, but she also has a heart. Just keep her entertained and you'll be fine." Tori informs him.

"Thanks for the tip."

"No problem," she tells him. "I better get going. I'm going to go dig through my suitcase and pick some things to wear on Saturday."

"That's all the way next weekend."

"Yes, but if I pick it on Saturday, Trina won't let me leave the apartment. She says when I do that I'm not actually thinking about what I'm wearing, it's better for me to have options and then she picks the one she likes best. It just makes everything so much more easier."

"She really is a strange one."

"You are too, Bandana Man."

"No making fun of Bandana Man."

"Whatever, I'll catch you later."

"Bye."

James walks into his room and flops down on the bed. Now that he knows all the necessary information, he can't wait for Saturday to come. He knows that it's possible that he'll have a good time Trina, but as long as he's in the same place as Tori, he'll have a great time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** This chapter has been a long time coming. I'm sorry if this isn't what you expected, but this was the way I decided to write it. There's drama to come in the next chapter, but I wanted this one to be really sweet, so that's what I did. I was a little vague in some parts, but I don't really want to elaborate on those because I feel they work really well the way I wrote them.

* * *

The week went by surprisingly fast for Tori.

She was constantly in and out of the studio, getting some writing done, and even recording a few songs Gustavo had ready. She was also informed that she would be attending school at the Palm Woods the very next week instead of home schooling or going back to Hollywood Arts.

She also got to meet some new faces at the Palm Woods. She ran into Camille and, to her surprise, became fast friends with her. The Jennifer's were a little bit of a stretch, they talked, but it was also kept to a minimum since Tori is still "fresh meat". She attempted to get to know Lucy a little bit more, but that wasn't exactly going well.

Her mom and dad came to check on her and Trina on Wednesday. They agreed with Trina that the apartment was dull looking and took them out to get some decorations. It did help liven the place up a little bit, but it could still look better. The guys told her if her demo gets picked and she gets to record a full album, they'll help convince Gustavo to let her get some cool things placed in the apartment.

She didn't really get a chance to hang out with Kendall as much as she would've liked, but they did when they could and they were constantly texting each other. Trina told her she shouldn't be this obsessed with a boy that she just met, but Tori didn't care. Kendall was nice and really sweet, that was all that mattered to her.

After all that happened during the week, Tori was relaxing Friday night after coming from the studio. Sweats, messy hair, and make-up free; it's safe to say that she felt amazing. She was watching one of her favorite movies with Trina while they were discussing their dates for the next night.

"Do you know where James is taking you?" Tori asks.

"Actually, I haven't even asked him. To be honest, I don't care where he takes me." Trina smiles.

Tori glances over at her. "Seriously?"

Trina nods. "Seriously. He's so hot that I could care less. I'm just happy I'll be able to say I went out on a date with James Diamond."

"On a date? So, you're not planning to be his girlfriend?"

"Oh, I'm gonna be his girlfriend. I just didn't wanna sound so full of myself."

"You sound like that all the time."

"True." Trina shrugs.

Tori laughs and gets up to get some more snacks from the kitchen. "You know, if you and James get married, everyone at Hollywood Arts will worship you."

"I know, right! And besides that, I'll become famous just for being with someone famous. It's absolutely perfect."

"Do you even actually like him?"

"Yeah."

"I mean like him for him. From what I know of him, he actually is a sweet guy. A little conceited and over-dramatic, but still sweet."

"Well, _I_ don't know him at all. We've only talked about a handful of times for like ten minutes, but that's all gonna change tomorrow night." Trina says as the doorbell rings. "Get that." she tells Tori.

Tori walks over to the door and opens it. "Hi." she smiles when she sees Kendall.

"Hey," he looks at what she's wearing and smiles, "don't you look cute."

Tori rolls her eyes with a soft smile playing on her lips. "Thanks. What's up?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you would like to hang out?"

"Sure. Trina and I are watching some movies, but if there's something else you'd like to do, we could do that."

"Watching movies sounds great." he smiles.

"Good, come in." Tori steps inside to let him walk in.

"I like what you've done to the place."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but I'm going to say thank you anyway."

Kendall laughs. "Hey, Trina."

"Hi."

"What movie are you guys watching?"

"It's a really cheesy romance movie that I absolutely adore." Tori tells him as she makes her way back to the couch.

"Ah, a cheesy comedy movie. That narrows it down to…all of them."

"Haha, this movie may be cheesy, but it's still entertaining and sweet."

"That's such a girl thing for you to say."

"Tori shoves him. "Well, I am a girl."

"Really? I haven't noticed." Kendall jokes.

"Shut up!"

"Could you two stop your flirting for two minutes so I can ask a question?" Trina asks.

Tori sighs. "Sure."

"Ask away."

"This will only take a minute. Is James home by any chance?"

"Yeah, he's-"

"That's all I needed to know," Trina gets up and starts walking towards her room, "enjoy your movie night!"

"You're not staying?" Tori asks.

"Nope, I have someone better to spend my Friday night with."

"I'll try not to take that to heart!" Tori yells.

"She's a mess." Kendall comments.

"She's Trina."

"That is true."

Fifteen minutes after later, Trina comes running out her room frantically brushing her hair with one hand and applying lip gloss with the other.

"Need another hand, Tri?" Tori asks sarcastically.

"Yes! Do you mind?" Trina asks as she looks at herself in the mirror.

"I do mind, but I'll help you out another way."

"How?"

"By telling you this: one side of your hair is curly and the other is straight."

Trina gasps. "How the hell did I miss that?" she yells as she runs to go fix her hair.

"This is what you have to deal with on a daily basis?"

"Yep, every single day. Don't you feel sorry for me?"

Kendall nods. "So sorry."

Another fifteen minutes later, Trina comes running back out with her hair equally straight, but with a completely different outfit on.

"Why'd you change your clothes?"

"It didn't go with my hair." Trina states.

Tori rolls her eyes. "I hope you're done."

"As a matter of fact, I am. Don't I look fabulous?" Trina asks while she twirls around.

"Stunning."

"Great, I'll be back later."

"See ya!" Tori yells before Trina closes the door.

"A whole apartment to ourselves. What should we do?" Kendall asks.

"That sounds very suggestive, I hope you don't mean to sound that way." Tori comments.

"Of course not," Kendall replies, "I was just thinking we should do something else besides watch movies."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well…I mean we could…it's a little weird…never mind, forget I said anything."

"Come on, Kendall. Tell me."

"It's nothing."

"Is it something bad?"

"No."

"Then tell me."

Kendall sighs. "It's a weird question."

"I live with Trina, I've heard almost every weird thing known to man. It can't be that weird."

"I still can't do it."

Tori sighs. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Tori smiles to herself before she looks at Kendall again. "Maybe this will help change your mind."

"What are you-" he's cut off by Tori's lips pressed against his. This isn't how he pictured his first kiss with Tori would go, but he's not complaining. After gaining his composure, he kisses her back.

After kissing for a moment, Tori pulls back to catch her breath. "Now will you tell me?"

"That was kinda it." Kendall says, blushing a little.

"Really? You just wanted to know if you could kiss me?"

"I was going to wait until tomorrow after our date, but since we're here and not doing anything…" Kendall trails off.

Tori smiles. "You are too adorable, Kendall Knight."

"Thanks, I try." he smirks.

"Don't ruin the moment."

"Not trying to." Kendall smiles as he pulls Tori in for another kiss.

* * *

Trina stands outside apartment 2J checking her hair and make-up in her phone. When she feels like she looks presentable enough, she knocks softly on the door. She hears someone making their way to the door, and just in case it's James, she puts a flirty smile on her face. Her flirty smile turns into a normal one when she sees it's Carlos who opens the door.

"Hey." he greets her with a smile.

"Hi, is James home?" she asks sweetly.

"Yeah, come on in, I'll go get him."

"Thanks." Trina makes her way in the apartment and takes a seat on the orange couch. She pulls out her phone once more to make sure she looks absolutely perfect, just as James walks in the room.

"Hi."

"Oh, hey." Trina smiles as she pockets her phone quickly.

"What's up?"

"Well, Tori and Kendall are doing their own little movie night so I thought I'd come over."

James nods. "Okay then," James starts trying to think of anything he would want to do with Trina, "let's get to know each other a little better."

"Oh, sure. What do you want to know?"

He know it's kind of low to ask Trina about Tori before he asks about her so he musters up a simple question, "What about performing made you want to go to Hollywood Arts?"

"I love to sing, dance, act. I'm the type of person who wants eyes on me all the time. It's amazing when you're the star of something."

"Have you ever been the star in anything at the school?"

"I was the lead in my one-woman show and I was one of the main roles in Tori's play."

James starts to actually gain interest when he hears Tori's name. "Tori writes plays?"

"Well, it was something that she was in a way required to do. The play itself was great, but something happened to one of the wires I was connected to and it became a huge catastrophe." Trina shakes her head remembering that night.

"I'm sure that wasn't the first time that something went wrong at a performing arts school."

"Especially at Hollywood Arts, anything is possible there."

"Such as?" James asks, hoping Tori will somehow come back into the conversation.

"My one-woman show was supposed to be reviewed as a drama, but everyone saw it as a comedy. I guess that wasn't entirely bad because it was still a hit." she smiles proudly. "Also, there was this time where Tori basically passed out during one of the plays we were doing and I had like a mild case of tuberculosis or whatever."

"Tori passed out during a performance?" he asks, not caring about Trina's tuberculosis issue.

Trina doesn't seem to even notice it though, she's too wrapped up in trying to answer any question James has whether it's about her or not. "Yeah, she gave blood to Robbie, that geeky kid with a his hand shoved up a puppet, and things kept happening to the blood every time so when it was time to perform she was lightheaded after giving three pints of blood and fainted."

"Wow, glad she's okay."

"Me, too. There are just some things I wouldn't be able to do without my baby sister."

"Are you two close?"

Trina shrugs. "You could say that. We love each other, but we also get under each other's skin."

James smiles as he comes up with a plan to take Trina exactly where Tori and Kendall are going the next night. "Complete subject change, but is there anywhere you really wanna go tomorrow for our date?"

"I actually don't even care, as long as I'm with you." Trina bats her eyelashes.

James fights the urge to roll his eyes as he says, "Well, I was thinking about going to a movie and then out for dinner."

"Great, what movie are we seeing?"

"There's this cool comedy movie someone told me about." James smiles remembering what Tori had told him the week before.

"Sounds like fun."

"You can pick where we should go for dinner."

"Well, I'm dying to go to Nozu. I haven't been there in a while and I really want some sushi."

"That's perfect. So it's settled, we'll go to the movies and then dinner at Nozu."

Trina nods her head in agreement. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Tori and Kendall spend the remainder of their night watching movies, talking, cuddling, and kissing every now and then. They enjoy the peace and quiet they have until Trina comes walking through the door.

"I'm guessing James was home?"

"Yep."

"Did you two actually get to know each other?"

"Sure did. My night has ended on a perfect note." Trina smiles.

"Good for you."

"Now, I need my beauty sleep. Kendall, I'm going to be straightforward about this, I'm kicking you out of my apartment."

"Trina!" Tori yells.

"It's fine," Kendall says as he gets up off the couch. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tori."

"I'll walk with you back to your apartment." Tori offers and follows him out the door.

"You're really gonna walk me across the hall?" Kendall asks with a smirk on his face.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, just a little amusing."

Tori stops walking. "I can go back to my apartment."

Kendall turns around and grabs her wrist. "Come on, I was just kidding."

"You're lucky we only have a few steps left." Tori mumbles.

Kendall chuckles as they arrive in front of the door. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now."

"I guess it is."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Do you really have any choice?"

Kendall laughs at how ridiculous he sounds. "I guess not." he leans in to give Tori a kiss goodnight, but before their lips can touch, the door opens. "Mom!"

"Don't mind me. Hello, Tori."

"Hi." Tori smiles her face turning red in embarrassment.

"I'll see you later, Tori."

"Right. Goodnight."

"'Night."

Tori turns around and makes her way back into her apartment. Once she's inside and the door is closed, she leans her head against it.

"Did you enjoy your walk across the hall?" Trina asks sarcastically.

"Sure did. I'm going to bed."

"'Night."

"Goodnight." Tori walks into her room and goes to her laptop. She logs onto The Slap to update her status before going to bed.

_This is a little sappy, but I'm currently on cloud nine. No one push me down (that means you Jade). Can't wait for tomorrow._

_**Mood:**__ eager_

* * *

Tori wakes up the next morning to her phone ringing loudly. She searches blindly for it, finally locating it on the floor, before answering it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Tori." she hears Cat say into the phone.

Tori yawns. "Hey, Cat. What's up?"

"You told me to call you."

"When I said that, I meant at a time I wouldn't be sleeping."

"Sorry, but are we still going to the mall?"

Tori sits up, deciding to go ahead and get her day started. "As long as your brother isn't the one driving us, I'm all for it."

"He's not, Jade is."

Tori groans. "Why?"

"Why what?" Cat asks.

"Why did you ask Jade?"

"She was the only person available."

"Fine, I guess that's okay. As long as we get to the mall early enough to buy the outfit Trina decided was good enough for my date." Tori rolls her eyes remembering Trina telling her earlier in the week that she needed something brand new to wear on her date with Kendall. Instead of arguing with her, Tori decided to just listen to her and go to the mall to buy the outfit.

"Are you still not going to tell me who you're going on a date with?"

"I can't, Cat."

Cat sighs. "Why not?"

"Because, I don't want to give out too much information about what goes on over here. If it doesn't work out, music and relationship wise, I don't want everyone to know about it. Now, when people ask where I'm at, what do you tell them?"

"That you're on vacation with your family." Cat tells her proudly.

"Good, Cat." Tori knows people won't believe that excuse for three months, but it's working for now.

"What time do you want Jade and I to come by?"

"About one, that gives me time to just relax before I have to come back and get ready."

"'Kay, 'kay. See you then."

"Bye." she tells her friend before she hangs up.

"Tori!" she hears her sister yelling from the living room.

"What?" she yells back.

"Come here, it's an emergency!"

She gets off her bed and slowly makes her way to where Trina is. "What's the emergency?"

"Today's Saturday."

"Very good, Trina. Now, what day comes after Saturday?" Tori asks in a condescending voice.

"Don't patronize me, I'm freaking out!" Trina yells as she paces around the room.

"About?"

"Tonight. What if my date with James doesn't go as planned? What if he hates me? My whole reputation here will be ruined."

"Tri, calm down. He's not going to hate you. Just win him over with that Trina Vega charm and everything will be fine." Tori comforts.

"The Trina Vega charm doesn't exactly work that well."

"I know, I just didn't know what else to say."

Trina rolls her eyes. "What do we even talk about?"

"You both like to talk about yourselves, so ask about him and he'll probably ask about you."

"Okay, I can do that."

"I've never seen you so nervous for a date."

"That's because I'm going on a date with James Diamond."

"He's just a regular guy, Trina."

Trina scoffs. "No, Beck is a regular guy, Andre is a regular guy, James Diamond is a god."

"Whatever, just be yourself tonight."

"I'll try."

"Good, if you do that, nothing bad can come from this date."

* * *

The rest of the day goes by smoothly. Tori actually has fun going shopping with Jade and Cat, she even buys a pretty necklace for Trina to wear on her date with James. By the time she gets back to the Palm Woods, it's three o'clock. Kendall will be arriving at her door at six which gives her three hours to shower, do her hair, do her make-up, and get dressed. She's actually starting to feel extremely nervous.

Trina spends her time in the bathroom, hogging it for an hour before Tori can go in to take a shower. When she get's out, she has less than two hours to get ready. The panic starts to set in as she blow dries her hair while applying her lipstick. She's almost ready by the time she gets out of the bathroom, getting dressed is the only thing that she has to get done, along with a few last minute touchups. Once she feels ready enough, she sits on the couch waiting for Kendall to arrive. She glances at the wall clock and notices he'll be there in exactly fifteen minutes.

Trina walks out, looking pleased with herself, as she looks Tori up and down. "Don't you look pretty. Not gorgeous like me, but still pretty."

"Thanks." Tori mumbles sarcastically.

"Nervous?"

"Only a little."

"Look, I know I said you and Kendall might be taking things a little too fast, but I still want you to have fun on your date tonight."

Tori smiles. "Thanks, Trina."

"No problem," Trina smiles back. "plus Dad's a cop, he hurts you, Dad hurts him."

"True." Tori laughs, she gets up to look at herself one final time in the mirror, when there's a knock on the door.

"Is that him?"

"Maybe, he's twelve minutes early, though."

"Wow, Tor. A whole twelve minutes." Trina says sarcastically.

Tori rolls her eyes and opens the door where she's greeted with Kendall. "Hi."

"Hey." he smiles.

"Wow, how romantic." Trina mumbles.

Tori shoots her a look, then looks back at Kendall. "Ready to go?"

"Yep, your chariot awaits."

"My chariot?"

"Well, not a chariot, but still your ride awaits."

Tori giggles. "Okay, let's get going. Bye, Trina."

"Bye, have fun on your date."

"You, too."

Trina waits around for another ten minutes, before James arrives at the door.

"Hi." Trina smiles.

"Hey," James greets and looks at Trina, he has to admit she does look great. "you look amazing."

Trina blushes. "Thanks, you do as well."

"Thanks." James glances at his watch. "We better get going so we can catch the movie."

"Okay, let me just grab my purse." Trina runs to the couch and grabs it before she walks out the door.

They walk to through the Palm Woods, James' hand resting on the small of Trina's back. If he's gonna take Trina out tonight, and possibly more nights if all goes well with Kendall and Tori, he needs to at least keep up with the James Diamond charm.

"So," Trina starts, pulling James out of his thoughts, "I know you said we can do movie and dinner, but if there's something else you'd like to do, we can do that."

James shakes his head immediately. "No, I think it's perfect. For a first date, at least." he of course leaves out the fact that he's only doing this to keep an eye on Tori and Kendall.

"Okay," Trina smiles at him. "movie and dinner it is."

* * *

By the time James and Trina arrive at the cinema, Tori and Kendall have already taken their seats in the middle of the theater. James spots them immediately and tells Trina they should sit towards the back of the theater.

Once they take their seats, Trina looks around the theater as her eyes catch a glimpse of a particular couple. "Is that Tori and Kendall?"

James' eyes bug out. "I don't think so."

"Are you sure? It looks a lot like them."

"You can't see their faces."

"But I know my sister."

"Look, the movie's starting!"

Trina forces her attention on the movie, not wanting to bicker with James on their first date. James keeps his eyes on Tori and Kendall, occasionally watching the movie. He feels his blood boil every time Kendall whispers something in Tori's ear or he puts his arm around her; he wishes he could do that instead of sitting here with Trina. Trina's not a bad date, although he hasn't really had a chance to get to know her. He feels bad, knowing that he's never going to pursue a relationship with her and is just waiting for Tori and Kendall to end, so he can possibly date Tori. It makes him feel bad enough that he puts his arm around her, much to her surprise. Trina looks at him, a small smile playing on her lips, and leans into him the best she can with the armrest between them.

The remainder of the movie goes on like that, James watching Tori and Kendall, but keeping his arm around Trina. He only really takes his eyes off of them if Trina says something or there's something said in the movie that catches his attention. When the movie ends, he rushes Trina out the door to the car, making sure Tori and Kendall don't see them.

He opens the door for Trina and walks around to his side, glancing around quickly before backing out of the cinema parking lot.

"That was a good movie, right?" Trina asks.

"Yeah, totally. Glad we saw it." James half-lies.

"I know, I can't wait to tell Tori about it."

James starts to panic a little, since Tori was the one who told him about the movie, but he quickly comes up with something. "How about we just keep this to us? It'll be our little secret what we did on our first date. Let everyone think what they want." James ends it with a wink, knowing that will get Trina to agree.

"Okay." Trina smiles.

They pull into the Nozu parking lot and walk inside. James picks a table off to the side, hoping they don't get caught once Tori and Kendall arrive."

"What do you want to order?" Trina asks him.

"California rolls, are my favorite, so probably that."

Trina rolls his eyes. "Typical."

"What's typical about a California roll?" James asks, focusing his attention on Trina for the first time that night.

"Why not try something different? You already know what a California rolls tastes like, go for something else."

"But I like California rolls."

"I realize that, but you're gonna order something different." Trina tells him.

"Oh, am I?"

Trina nods her head. "Yep."

James smiles at her. "I like your attitude, you're really determined."

"Thanks, I try."

"So, what do _you_ recommend?"

"The Spicy Tataki roll is really good."

"I guess I'll give that a try."

"I guess you will."

James rolls his eyes just as Mrs. Lee comes to take their order. Once that's done, James gets up to run to the bathroom. He leaves just as Kendall and Tori walk in.

"Hey, that's Trina." Tori tells Kendall.

"I guess she and James decided to come here, too."

Tori walks over to Trina's table. "Hey, sister."

"Hi, didn't expect to see you here." Trina smiles.

"I can say the same. How's your date going?"

"Great, yours?"

Tori smiles. "Definitely one of the best dates I've been on."

"That's good."

"Where's James?" Tori asks, looking around.

"Bathroom."

"Ah, well I'll leave you to your date."

"Okay, enjoy your dinner."

"You, too."

James arrives back and looks around Nozu, spotting Tori and Kendall. "I didn't know they were going to be here." he lies.

"Yeah, I guess great minds think alike."

"Or something like that." James says under his breath.

The rest of their date actually goes by rather well, James watching Tori and Kendall but not as much as he was when they were at the movies. He actually enjoys talking to Trina, she's not Tori, but he enjoys her company.

They finish their dinner, but James keeps the conversation going so they can leave the same time as Tori and Kendall. He notices that they seem to act more like friends instead of two people on a date. That makes him feel better until he remembers how they were acting in the movie theater, which just makes him jealous and a little mad all over again.

When he sees Kendall paying the bill, he finally stands up. "Ready to go?"

"I guess, this was fun, though."

James nods his head in agreement. "It was."

They drive back to the Palm Woods, laughing and talking; Trina telling James a little more about herself and James, surprisingly, actually listens to her. When they get back to the hotel, James walks her to the door of her apartment.

"Well, Trina, I have to say this has been one of the best dates I've been on." he says honestly.

"I agree."

"We should do this again." James offers, surprised when the words come out his mouth.

"Yeah, I would like that."

"So, next Saturday?" he asks, making sure to suggest to Kendall and Tori to go out again next Saturday as well.

"Sounds like a plan." she smiles.

"Goodnight, Trina."

"Goodnight."

James thinks about just walking away, but once again the guilt that he feels from just using Trina washes over him and he leans in to give her a soft, quick kiss.

"I'll see you around." he tells her.

"Yeah, around."

James kisses her on the cheek, before making his way to apartment 2J. Trina walks inside, head spinning from the magical moment that just happened, and takes a seat on the couch with a huge smile on her face.

Tori arrives home fifteen minutes later and Trina still has the smile planted on her face.

"I'm guessing the date went really well?" Tori asks.

"Yeah, it did." Trina leaves it at that, taking James' advice of keeping it their little secret.

"I'm glad." Tori smiles at her sister before taking a seat beside her. "These BTR guys are something else."

"Yep, they're simply perfect." Trina says with a soft smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** This story is almost at the end. I have a few more chapters after this and then it's time to say goodbye. This is where more of the drama starts and a lot of things begin to happen. Tori's stay at the Palm Woods has been fun, but all good things must come to an end. Anyway, sorry for not updating in a while, but I'm trying to post as often as I can. Enjoy!

* * *

For the next two months, things continued to be the same.

Tori continued to be in and out of the studio. Her demo is almost finished and she just hopes that she gets the opportunity to record a full album. Her dates with Kendall have become a weekly thing, them going out every Saturday to do something new and exciting. James is still "dating" Trina and following Tori and Kendall (unbeknownst to them) on every single date that they go. They've almost been caught twice, but he always manages to get himself and Trina away just in time.

Her friends and parents still continue to visit, all of them happy to that she's getting a chance to live out her dream. Jade's a little better about the situation since Tori, along with the help of the guys, managed to talk Gustavo into letting Jade record a duet with her if she gets signed for a full album.

Tori has three weeks left before she's done with recording. Although she's happy to almost be finished, she really doesn't want to be. She's made some amazing friends and memories at the Palm Woods and the last thing she wants is to leave that behind. Of course she misses being able to spend quality time with her family and friends, but this is her dream.

The guys and Camille told her no matter what happens, they'll all stay in touch. That makes her happy knowing that she'll leave the place with some friends. Of course if she can stay, that would be great too.

It's another Saturday afternoon, she's hanging out in her apartment with Trina talking about their plans for the evening.

"So, where are you and Kendall going tonight?" Trina asks.

Tori sighs. "We're not going out."

"You're staying in?"

"No, we don't have a date tonight."

"Seriously?" Trina asks surprised.

"Seriously."

"Wow, that's a first."

Tori shrugs. "I'm not up for it tonight."

"You two have barely said anything to each other this week. If you're not in the studio or at school, you're usually with each other doing something. You guys haven't even done that this week. What's up?"

Tori shakes her head. She can't let Trina know what's really bothering her without possibly upsetting her. "Nothing."

"Tori," Trina starts. "I'm your sister, if there's anyone in the world who truly gets you, it's me. Talk to me."

"Trina, I'm serious. There's nothing wrong. I just wanted to stay in by myself for one night. Is that too much to ask?"

"No, I guess not."

"Good, so where are you and James going?"

"Just hanging out in the apartment for the night." Trina tells her.

"Here or his."

"His, everyone's going to be doing their own thing so we get it to all to ourselves."

"That's great."

Trina smiles. "I know. It'll be just us for the very first time."

"I'm happy for you, Tri."

"Speaking of James, I need to go talk to him. I'll be right back."

"Okay."

Trina walks out the door and makes her way to apartment 2J. She's been meaning to talk to James about something that's been bothering her, but she hasn't been able to bring it up without sounding mad. She's more calm about the situation, but that doesn't make her any happier. She knocks on the door and waits anxiously for it to open.

"Hey." James greets her.

"Hi, can we talk?"

"Sure, come in." he lets Trina through the door and follows her to the orange couch. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now and it's really been bothering me for the past few days and I guess now is as good as time as any to say it."

"Okay, ask away."

"Do you like Tori?" Trina asks, not making eye contact with him.

"What?" James asks, surprised by her question.

"I've realized something. A lot of the times when we're out together, you ask a lot about Tori or topics that Tori would be involved in. You spend more time talking to her than you do to me and we're supposed to be 'dating'. And recently I've realized that when we go out on dates, Tori and Kendall just so happen to be there. You can't tell me that's a coincidence. So, do you like Tori?"

James looks at her. "Trina, I know when I say this I'll seem like a huge ass, but I guess you deserve to know the truth."

Trina nods. "Go on."

"I've been using you to get to know more about Tori. I take you to the places she and Kendall go so I can spy on them. You're an amazing person and I really shouldn't had used you like that. I'm really sorry. And to answer your question, I do like Tori. I actually like her a lot."

Trina remains silent, not responding to anything James said. She knows it was going to be hard to hear that one of her biggest crushes was just using her to get to her sister, but she didn't think it would upset her as much as it is right now.

"Why don't you just tell her you like her?" she manages to ask.

"I don't know. I guess I was trying to be a good friend to Kendall."

"That doesn't make what you did any better."

James nods his head in agreement. "I know, I am honestly so sorry."

"I guess this is the end of something that never was."

"Yeah, I guess it is. I have to admit, when I didn't ask about Tori and just had an actual conversation with you, it was nice. You're a really fun and sweet person, Trina."

Trina finally looks at him. "Thanks, I guess. Listen, I probably shouldn't say this without Tori knowing, but I'm going to anyway. I don't think she and Kendall will last too much longer."

"Why do you say that?"

"She just doesn't seem that into him anymore. I don't know if she's into someone else because she won't talk to me about it, but I don't think they'll survive her possible last three weeks here."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome." Trina stands up to leave. "And I'm not mad at you. I may be a little hurt, but I'm not mad."

"I'm truly sorry."

Trina nods. "At least you know you were wrong. I had fun hanging out with you, though. I wish you the best of luck with your quest to win Tori's heart."

James smiles. "Thanks."

Trina walks to the door and turns around. "Remember this, if you do end up dating Tori and break her heart like this, my dad's really overprotective and a cop."

He nods. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. See you around, James."

"Bye, Trina."

* * *

Trina gets back to the apartment, but doesn't see Tori sitting where she left her. She shrugs it off and makes her way to the couch, flopping down with a sigh.

"Hey, did you talk to James?" Tori asks when she walks into the living room.

"Yeah." Trina sighs.

"What's wrong?"

"We ended things."

"Really? Why?"

Trina thinks about telling Tori the truth, but she decides against it. "It just wasn't working out."

Tori sits down beside her and lays her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. It was a mutual kind of thing."

"At least you can say you've dated James Diamond."

Trina rolls her eyes. "Actually, I think I'm going to keep it to myself."

"You don't wanna brag about it to everyone?"

"They wouldn't believe me."

"True." Tori agrees.

Trina sighs. "I hate breakups."

"Are you sure there's no real reason as to why you two broke up?" Tori asks.

Trina hesitates before answering. "There is, I just don't want to tell you."

"Come on, Tri. You know you can tell me absolutely anything."

"I don't exactly know how to tell you."

"Straightforward is always good." Tori suggests.

"Okay, but don't let this change anything between you and James." Trina tells her.

"Why would anything change between James and I?"

"I'm about to tell you."

"Okay." Tori nods her head for Trina to continue.

"James was using me. In his eyes we weren't really dating, I was just some girl that he needed as a cover up."

"A cover up for what?"

"James really likes you. He used me so he could get to know more about you. Everywhere that he took me, you and Kendall were always there. I guess he would find out where you two would be going and then he would make sure we would be there as well."

Tori frowns. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, he told me that he knows he shouldn't had used me like that, but I guess since he couldn't actually have you, he was going to try to get to you by using me. If you and Kendall had broken up, he would've dumped me in a heartbeat so he could be with you."

"Why do you see okay with this?" Tori asks, anger suddenly overtaking her entire attitude.

Trina shrugs. "Because there's nothing I can do; the damage is done. I have to just accept the fact that my number one crush used me to get to my little sister."

"Trina, this is not okay." Tori stands up. "I can't believe he would do something like that. This is low, even for someone like him. I know you date some of the most awful guys out there, but I didn't think James could be one of them."

"Tori, don't be mad at him."

"I am, though!" Tori yells. "He _used_ you, if he was just man enough to say that he liked me I wouldn't be mad, but he didn't. You can't expect me to just be all calm like you are. He was wrong and now you're hurt."

"I'll be fine."

Tori rolls her eyes. "Trina, don't make him seem like such a good guy."

"I'm not trying to, Tori," Trina sighs. "I just don't want your possible last three weeks to be filled with drama."

"I'm going to go talk to him."

"Tori, no."

Tori makes her way to the door. "It's not going to be a bad talk, I just want to know why he decided that using you would be the best way to handle this situation."

Trina stands up. "Tori."

"I'll be back." Tori tells her before walking out the door and angrily making her way to apartment 2J. She knocks on the door and waits for James to open.

"Hey." James greets her.

"How dare you use my sister!" Tori yells and pushes past him.

James sighs. "So, she told you."

"Yeah, she wasn't going to but I knew there was more to the story than she was telling me. I cannot believe you!"

"Tori-"

"No, I don't want to hear any of your excuses. My whole opinion of you has completely changed. How often do you pretend to date some girl before dumping her for the girl you're actually after?"

"I get that you're mad, you have every right to be."

"Don't try to make this situation any better. Nothing you say will make this better. My sister is heartbroken because you just thought this whole stupid thing was going to work out. Why couldn't you just be honest about this? If you did that, I would at least still have some kind of respect for you."

James sits on the couch. "I don't know, I was just frustrated when I found out that you were going out with Kendall instead of me and this is the first thing that came to mind."

"He asked you if you were okay with any of this. He _asked_ you."

"I know," James says, rubbing his hand through his hair. "I didn't think it would bother me so much that he was going out with you, though. I like you, Tori. This is why all of this is happening."

Tori scoffs. "You are not blaming me for any of this."

"I'm not trying to, I'm just telling you why I did this."

"I can't listen to anymore of this. I'm going back to comfort my sister."

"Tori-"

"Goodbye, James." Tori says as she opens the door. "After tonight, I don't think I'll be too disappointed if I don't get signed for a full album." she tells him before walking out the door.

James sighs and makes his way to his room, feeling like a bigger jerk than he did when all of this started.

* * *

Trina sits up as soon as Tori walks through the door. "What did you say?"

"I basically let him know how big of a jerk he was and that I don't even want to talk to him anymore."

"Tori."

"Trina, you can't expect me to act like this didn't even happen. He used you, that's not right."

Trina shakes her head. "I'll get over it."

"Stop taking his side when he's the one who's wrong."

"I'm not trying to take his side, I just don't see why you two can't still be friends. Yeah, he used me to try to get to you, but that's something that I'll forget about eventually."

Tori takes a seat on the couch. "You're telling me that when you walk into a grocery store and see a magazine in the checkout line with his face on it, it won't bother you? If you're in your car and a song by them comes on, it won't bother you? If you're watching TV and they come on, it won't bother you?"

"Okay, it might bother me a little, but I try not to hold too many grudges."

Tori groans. "I can't even deal with anymore of this right now. I'm going to go take a nap."

"Fine, have a nice nap."

"Maybe when I wake up, you'll have more sense about this whole ordeal." she tells Trina as she makes her way to her bedroom.

Trina rolls her eyes at Tori's comment and rested her head on one of the couch pillows thinking about this whole situation. She doesn't understand why Tori is more upset about this situation than Trina is herself. Yes, James is wrong and Trina is completely upset, but Tori seems to be the one who's making more out of it than what it actually is. Breakups happen all the time for different reasons, Trina knows that for a fact. All of a sudden, Trina realizes something. She understands why Tori is enjoying her time away from Kendall. She understands why she never wanted to talk to Trina about her guy problems. She understands why Tori is so upset about this entire situation.

Tori likes James.

It's the only logical explanation. She can't accept the fact that James hurt Trina because she doesn't want to ruin some perfect image she has of James. She thinks that if James used Trina, James would use her the exact same why. It all makes perfect sense.

Trina gets off the couch and runs out the door, making her way to 2J. She knocks frantically until James opens it.

"Are you back to yell at me?" he asks, sounding defeated.

"Tori likes you!" she practically yells.

"What?"

"I just realized something and I get why Tori is so mad at you about this, she likes you!"

James takes a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. "And you're sure about this?"

Trina walks in and takes a seat at the table. "It makes sense. She's always having guy problems, but she never wants to talk to me about them. She loves her time away from Kendall. Hell, I even notice the way she looks at you sometimes. She likes you."

"You can't be a hundred percent positive."

"I'm a thousand percent positive."

"Then why did she come here and act like she was ready to murder me?" he questions.

"Because you hurt me. I think that she thinks if you hurt me and used me, you'll do the same thing to her. So, that kicked you off the pedestal that she had you on in her mind."

"None of this matters now."

"Why not?"

James sighs. "Tori hates me now. Whatever crush she had on me completely went out the window when she left here earlier."

"That's not completely true. She's just hurting right now, but I know Tori, she'll get over it. She still likes you, if she didn't, she wouldn't be acting like she is right now."

"And you're still sure about this?"

Trina nods. "I know my sister, she likes you. She never told me about her guy problems because she knew I liked you and that we were 'dating'. That's the only reason why."

"I still don't see why she chose Kendall over me."

"Because like I said, Tori knew that I liked you. She wouldn't go out with you knowing that, that's why when Kendall asked her out, she said yes. He was the next best thing."

"This all somehow makes sense."

"I told you! Now, the question is: how do we get Tori to forgive you?"

"You said she and Kendall are possibly going to breakup, right."

"I'm not so sure about that anymore. Now that she knows about this, she'll probably stay with him. Why do you ask?"

"Because if Tori's single and she's forgiven me, it's just easier for me to go ahead and date her."

Trina rolls her eyes. "Guys are always trying to find the easy way to things."

"I just really want Tori to forgive me."

"I understand that and I'll work on trying to get her to forgive you."

"Really?" he asks, surprised.

"Really."

"Why?"

"Because, even though you hurt me, I know you would make my sister happy. As long as you don't hurt her like you did me, you two would have a great relationship."

"How do you know that?"

Trina looks and him and smiles. "Because she enjoys talking to you, hanging out with you. She thinks you're funny and cute. She told me that even though you're a little conceited, you're still really nice. She's smitten over you, she just won't admit it."

"That's all going to change, though."

"Yes, it will. With my help, by the end of the three weeks left, you may have my sister as your girlfriend."

"That sounds perfect."

"It will be, don't worry."


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** This has been a long time coming. I've been really busy with school and my laptop has been acting weird, but here it is. Just a few chapters left before I call it quits with this story. I'm on Christmas break, so I'll try to get started on the next chapter and have it done soon. I really don't want it taking me a month to get a new chapter finished.

* * *

Trina wakes up bright and early the next morning and goes to the living room to find Tori standing at the window.

"Hey," Trina says and walks into the adjoining kitchen.

Tori sighs and goes to sit on the couch.

"Are you not talking to me?" Trina asks.

"What did you say to James last night?"

"That's confidential and not important."

Tori looks at her. "So, you're not mad at him?"

"I know I have every right to be, but I'm trying to be mature about this whole situation."

"I don't see why you have to be. He _used_ you."

"I know, Tori. I just don't want our possible last three weeks here to be hell." Trina says.

"But I feel bad."

Trina frowns. "Why?"

"Because he used you to get to me." she tells her. "I don't even know how you can look at me right now."

Trina sighs and walks over to Tori. "You did nothing wrong. Guys come and go, but you'll always be my sister."

"When did you start acting so mature?"

Trina shrugs. "Might as well do some growing up. I can't be a kid forever."

"I'm still not talking to James."

"I'm not expecting you to. Just know that he's not a bad person, he was wrong, but he's still a nice guy."

"We all have our own opinions." Tori gets off the couch. "I'm going to go shower."

"Okay."

* * *

"Dude," Carlos says to Kendall when he walks out into the living room. "You should've came with me and Logan last night. It was a lot of fun!"

"I wanted to do my own thing yesterday. Get some writing done."

"I thought you went out with Tori?"

Kendall shrugs. "She wasn't up for it."

"Oh," he replies. "That's unusual for you two."

"It was bound to happen. You know how we all get when we're stuck together every single day."

Carlos nods. "True."

"Morning." Logan says as he walks into the room.

"Hey." Carlos greets.

"Have either of you seen James? I went to go ask him something, but he wasn't in his room."

Carlos shakes his head. "He wasn't in there when I woke up."

"I haven't seen him since before we all went to bed last night." Kendall tells him.

Logan shrugs. "Maybe he went down to the pool."

"I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidnapped." Kendall jokes, but Logan doesn't laugh, just gives him a look. "What?"

"That's not funny. He seemed pretty bummed about something last night, who knows where he might be."

"James is just being James, doing his own thing."

"Carlos is right, he's probably just lounging by the pool or at the Palm Woods park or-"

"Out with Trina for a breakfast date." Carlos says.

"Exactly, he actually has a girlfriend now, so he could be doing something with her."

"Well," Logan starts. "I'm going to go to Tori and Trina's just to see if he's there."

"Logan, he's fine!"

"You don't know that for sure!" he responds and walks out the door.

He quckily makes his way to Tori and Trina's apartment and knocks on the door.

"Hey, Logan." Trina says when she opens the door.

"Hi, is James here?"

Trina shakes her head. "Why would he be?"

"Because he's your boyfriend."

"Oh," she sighs. "He didn't tell you guys, did he?"

"Tell us what?"

"We broke up last night. It's a long, complicated story."

"Wow, I'm sorry."

"No need to be. To answer your question, I haven't seen him since last night."

Logan sighs. "That seems to be everyone's answer."

"I'm sure he's fine."

"That's another response I've heard."

"Go back to the apartment, I'll go look for him."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I need to talk to him anyway."

"Okay, let me know if you find him."

"Sure thing."

* * *

After she takes a quick shower and gets dressed, Trina goes to look for James.

She's surprised when he's not in the lounge or by the pool. She's even more surpised when he's not in the Palm Woods park. After looking for about half an hour, she considers calling or texting him, but she realizes she left her phone in the apartment.

"Come on, Diamond. Where are you?" she asks herself.

Another ten minutes go by and she thinks about giving up.

Then she realizes where he's at.

"The old man's apartment."

She remembers James telling her about the time the guys got into an argument and he used the old man's aparment (and scooter) while he wasn't talking to them.

After making this realization she runs back to the Palm Woods where Bitters stops her.

"No running!"

"Sorry, I'm in a hurry."

"I don't care. No running in my lobby."

"Fine, I won't run." she speedswalk to the elevators and repeatedly presses the button until it opens.

Once the doors are closed, she takes the short trip up to the floor and looks for the room number she remembers hearing him say.

She spots it and runs to the door, knocking on it frantically.

James opens the door slightly. "Trina?" he opens it all the way. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"I've been looking for you for an hour! I found you because I remember you telling me that you used this apartment when you and the guys were fighting."

"Oh, I did tell you that."

"Yeah."

"I just needed to get away and think." he sighs.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Trina walks through the door and glances around the apartment. "Aren't you worried about the man coming home?"

"No," he says and sits down on the couch. "He's gone the same amount of time every weekend."

"You memorized his schedule?"

"I had to, I didn't wanna get caught."

"That's smart."

"Yeah,"

Trina sits next to him. "So, what's wrong?"

"I just needed some time to think about this entire Tori situation."

"I thought we talked about that last night?"

"I know, but I feel like I shouldn't get between her and Kendall anymore than I already have."

"Not to burst your bubble, but it's a little late for that."

James sighs. "I know, that's why it's stressing me out. Tori already hates me and I don't know how to get her to forgive me."

"We'll work on it."

"And what if she tells Kendall? He'll not only hate me, he'll probably try to kill me."

"He wouldn't, he's your best friend."

"For now." he scoffs.

"James, I'm trying to help you out here. Yes, Kendall will probably be upset about this situation, but he'll get over it. You are one of his best friends. He can't be mad at you forever."

"And Tori?"

Trina shrugs. "Us Vega girls are a little difficult, but I can get her to forgive you eventually."

"I still think what we're considering doing is wrong."

"It's not wrong. Tori wants to break up with Kendall, but she won't do it now because of you. It's wrong that Tori's staying with him for all the wrong reasons."

"It's all my fault."

"Don't beat yourself up about it."

"It's kind of hard not to."

Trina places a hand on his shoulder. "You're still a good person, James. You just made a mistake."

"Thanks, Trina. It really means a lot to me that you don't hate me after what I did."

"No problem." she stands up. "I'm going to let you get back to thinking. I'll tell the guys you're just having some you time."

"They were looking for me?"

"I'm not sure about Kendall and Carlos, but you had Logan a little worried."

James nods. "That's expected. It's a Logan thing to do."

"I'll talk to you later, James."

"I'll walk you out."

Trina chuckles. "It's nice to see your chivalry isn't gone."

"I still have to impress the ladies." he smirks.

"You mean lady."

"Right, lady. Tori is my main goal."

"Good."

James opens the door. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, I'll try to do some talking with Tori."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

On her way back to her apartment, Trina stops by 2J to tell the guys James is okay.

"Hey," Trina smiles when Kendall opens the door.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing much, I just told Logan that if I found James I would tell you guys. So, here I am."

"Is he okay?"

Trina nods. "He's fine, just needed some time to himself to think."

"Oh, well thanks for letting us know."

"It was my pleasure." she smiles once more before turning around to walk to her aparment.

"Sorry about the break up." Kendall tells her.

Trina turns around. "If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be. We can always still be friends."

"I think he'll like that."

"See you later, Kendall."

"Bye." he says and closes the door.

Trina makes her way down the hall and into the apartment. When she walks through the door, the first thing she notices is Tori curled up on the couch.

"Are you gonna mope around all day?"

"I'm just not in a good mood."

"You do realize _I'm_ the one he dumped, right?"

Tori sighs. "Yes, Tri."

"Then stop acting like he dumped you."

"I'm not acting like he dumped me."

"Yes, you are. I bet if Kendall were to dump you you wouldn't be this sad."

"I'm not sad, I'm just not in a good mood."

Trina runs her fingers through her hair. "Tori, I know you hate that your opinion of James has changed, but everything will be okay."

"I guess you're right."

"You should talk to him and I won't take no for an answer."

"I have nothing to say to him."

"That's a lie," Trina scoffs. "I know you have a plenty to say to him."

"None of them are nice things and I'm sure you want them to be nice."

"Yeah, I do want you to be nice. If you can't think of anything nice, let him talk and you can respond to everything."

"I guess that'll work."

"Good, I'll call him and let him know."

"I'm only doing this for you."

Trina smiles. "I know, it means a lot to me that you are."

"If I end up yelling at him, you can't blame me."

"I know."

"Go call him."

"Will do." Trina smiles and walks off to make the phone call, hoping this entire thing will get James back on Tori's good side.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **It hasn't been a month yet, so I did meet my deadline for this chapter. I've actually had this done for a while, I just haven't had the time to sit down and update, but whatever. Here it is. Chapter 11 is in the works and I should be getting done with that sometime soon if I keep working on it like I have been. Enjoy!

* * *

Trina calls up James and tells him that Tori is willing to sit down and talk with him. She warns him that Tori may not respond to everything and to be prepared if she starts yelling.

That doesn't matter to James, of course. As long as he gets some alone time with Tori he's up for pretty much anything.

The rest of the afternoon at the Vega's aparment goes by pretty fast.

Trina manages to get Tori to go to the gym with her before they head to the mall to hang out with Cat for a few hours. When they return, they begin to start packing up a little bit so it won't be a lot of packing if they end up not staying at the Palm Woods.

By the time they finished putting what they want into boxes, it's time for Tori to go to the Palm Woods park to meet James, much to her dismay.

"Do I have to do this?" she whines.

"Yes, you told me earlier that you would and he's already there waiting for you."

"Can we do this some other time?"

"Your definition of some other time is never."

Tori groans. "Is there a certain amount of time I have to stay out there with him or can I leave whenever I want?"

"Stay until you both have said what needs to be said. Don't get up and leave in the middle of a conversation, that makes you look bad, Tori."

"Fine," Tori says and begins to walk out the door.

"Have fun."

"I'll try not to."

* * *

When she gets to the lobby, she immediately spots Kendall, who begins to make his way towards her.

"Hey," he smiles.

"Hi,"

"Where're you heading?"

"Just to do some thinking."

Kendall frowns. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just nervous about this record deal and I need to get some thinking done before I drive myself insane." she lies.

"You're gonna get signed, Tor. Griffin would be insane not to sign you to Rocque Records."

Tori smiles softly. "Thanks, but I really don't wanna get my hopes up."

"Suit yourself," he shrugs. "You know where to find me if you want to talk."

"I know."

He smiles and leans down to give her a quick kiss. "I'll let you continue your journey, now."

"I'll talk to you later." she tells him and walks away.

* * *

The park is full with tons of people, but she still manages to spot James sitting on a bench anxiously waiting.

She walks over to him and takes a seat. "Let's get this over with."

"Hello to you, too."

"This is the last thing I want to be doing, so I'm sorry if I'm not in an extremely cheery mood."

"I understand."

"Whatever, just talk."

"Okay," he sighs. "Like I said, I know I was wrong, but not everything I think of seems that way when it comes to my mind."

Tori scoffs. "That's honestly not surprising."

"It hurt when you agreed to go out with Kendall instead of me and I was still upset about it that I came up with this plan."

"Why does it bother you so much that I told Kendall yes?"

"Because I thought when we first met you that you and I had some kind of connection."

Tori looks down at the ground. "Oh,"

"Tell me I'm not the only one who thought that."

"I'll admit, there was definitely something between us in that moment."

"And now?" he questions.

"Now is now."

James sighs. "Anyway, I planned to use Trina to get some more information about you, so when we hung out, I knew exactly what to say or what to do to really get your undivided attention."

"James, if there's anything that bothers me about this entire ordeal, it's that. I hate the fact that you just used my sister like that."

"I know and I'm sorry. I could apologize a million times and it still wouldn't be enough."

"You're right, it wouldn't."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"Why are you more upset about this than Trina is? I know she wasn't exactly thrilled, but she's over it. Why are you the one who's so upset?"

Tori's cheeks begin to redden. "I'm not upset, I'm mad."

"You were mad last night, now you just seem hurt."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter, Tori. Just tell me."

"Because I like you." she whispers.

"What?"

"I said because I like you."

James fights off the urge to break into a huge smile. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because Trina liked you. You've always been her favorite and I couldn't just go out with you knowing how much she liked you."

"That's why you said yes to Kendall?"

"Well, that and the fact that he was really sweet and I thought he and I would work out."

"You don't think so anymore?"

"James, I've said what I've wanted to say. I'm going back to my apartment." she gets off the bench and begins to walk away.

"Tori, wait." James goes to stop her. "This problem won't be solved if you don't talk to me."

"We did talk."

"Why won't you answer my question?"

"Because I feel bad."

"About what?"

Tori takes in a shuddering breath. "Because I know that my relationship with Kendall isn't going to work out. He is a sweet guy, but he's not for me and I'm basically using him like you used Trina."

"Why don't you just end it?"

"I don't know. I was hoping what you did to Trina would make me stop having feelings for you, but it didn't. I still like you." she sighs.

James doesn't know where this bold feeling came about, but he doesn't try to question it. Without hesitation, he cups Tori's cheek and kisses her.

Tori's shocked, but begins to kiss him back until she realizes they're in public and she's still dating his best friend. Guilt begins to wash over her and she pulls away.

"I can't do this." she whispers before running away from James.

"Tori!" he yells her name even though he knows she won't come back.

* * *

Tori sits in the lounge with her head hanging down thinking about what happened. Tears threaten to escape her eyes, but she fights them off, blinking rapidly.

She sniffles a little before she notices someone hovering over her.

"Hey, Tori." Lucy greets.

"Oh, hey."

"Why the long face?"

"Just a little stressed."

Lucy smirks. "I would say."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you and James kissing in the park. The last time I checked, you were dating Kendall."

Tori sighs. "Lucy, you don't know what's going on."

"So, you _weren't_ kissing James?"

"If you wanna tell Kendall, do it. This entire situation is becoming too much for me."

"I'm not going to tell Kendall."

"You're not?" Tori looks at her surprised.

"You're a nice girl, I know you'll do the right thing and tell him, but don't expect for him to just simply forgive you."

"I wouldn't expect him to."

"Good, I'll leave you be, but if you don't tell him sometime soon, I will."

Tori nods. "That's understandable."

"Good, I'll see you around."

Tori watches her walk away before burying her face in her hands. She knows she wanted to end her relationship with Kendall, but she didn't want to have to kiss his best friend to do so.

* * *

James feels guilty as hell after kissing Tori and knows that he should tell Kendall, but he can't seem to muster up the courage to do so.

Instead, he remains in the park and calls Trina to ask her to meet him there. Within five minutes she's walking up to the bench and taking a seat beside him.

"What's wrong? Did the conversation not go well?"

"She talked, but something happened."

Trina shoots him a look. "James, where is my sister?"

"I don't know, but I didn't mean something bad happened to her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he sighs. "I kissed her."

"Oh my gosh. That's great!"

James shakes his head. "No, it isn't."

"Why not?"

"Because she's still dating my best friend."

"Then why did you kiss her?"

"I got caught up in the moment. Ask Camille, she'll fill you in on that."

"What did Tori do after that?"

"She ran back to the Palm Woods."

"I can see you want to beat yourself up over this, but I don't think you should. It was a mistake."

"I seem to be making a lot of those lately."

"True," she agrees. "But everyone makes mistakes. Now, what did you two manage to talk about?"

"She admitted that she liked me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she said she couldn't go out with me because she knew that I was your favorite in the band and she couldn't do that to you."

"Wow, because of me this entire situation happened."

"Trina, don't blame yourself."

"It's true."

"No, it's not." he tells her. "You won't let me beat myself up and I'm not going to let you."

"Then whose fault is it?"

James shrugs. "Can we just say it was everybody's fault? It makes it easier."

Trina laughs. "I like that answer. Continue with your story."

"I asked her if she thought her relationship with Kendall was going to work out and she started to walk away."

"That's when you kissed her, right?" Trina questions.

"No, I managed to stop her and got her to answer. She said she feels bad because she knows they won't work, but she's still with him."

"Did she tell you why she won't end things with him?"

"She said that she didn't know and that she was hoping what I did would make her stop liking me."

"And?"

"And she still likes me." he smiles. "That's when I kissed her."

"Wow, this is so much information I have to process."

"Yeah, but what about Kendall?"

Trina thinks for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Don't tell him."

"I have to, I already feel guilty."

"Well, you don't have to tell him now."

"James!" they hear someone scream from behind them.

When they look, they see Kendall making his way towards them.

"Shit," James whispers.

"Maybe you do have to tell him now." Trina tells him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note:** Another little chapter for you all. There's not much to say here, but I hope everyone likes it. More to come with this and You & I. I didn't proofread this, so ignore any mistakes that I made. Enjoy!

* * *

James turns around in full panic mode, ready to take off until Trina grabs his hand.

"Just talk to him."

"Do I really have a choice?"

"Not now."

"I wasn't expecting to deal with this right now."

"Expect the unexpected." Trina manages to get out before Kendall stops in front of them.

"Hey, buddy."

"You kissed Tori?"

James sighs. "It's not what it sounds like."

"I think it's exactly what it sounds like. Things end between you and Trina and now you go after my girlfriend. Your ex-girlfriend's sister!"

"Kendall, calm down. Let me tell you what's going on."

"I don't wanna hear your lame ass excuse, James."

"I'm not giving you an excuse, I'm going to tell you the truth."

"Yeah, because you're so believable."

"Kendall-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Kendall yells before walking away.

"I'll go talk to him." Trina tells James before running in Kendall's direction. "Kendall!"

Kendall stops and waits for Trina to catch up. "Aren't you even the slightest bit upset?"

"No,"

"Why not?"

"If you give me time, I'll tell you. It's not exactly my place, but I'll do it."

Kendall hesitates before saying, "You'll tell me the honest truth?"

"Yes, no lies."

"Tell me."

She tells Kendall what's been going on and once she mentions Tori actually has feelings for James and is basically just stringing him along, she immediately notices the disappointment on his face.

"Wow," he breathes.

"You have every right to be mad at James, but don't hate him too much."

"I don't hate him, he is still my best friend. I really don't know how to feel towards him."

"He didn't think about the outcome, you can't really fault him on that since he fails to think most if the time, anyway."

Kendall chuckles. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean he's innocent."

"I didn't say he was. Just go talk to him, he already feels really bad and he's just ready for this entire situation to be over."

"Fine, I'll go talk to him."

"I know you don't want to, but go easy on him."

"We'll see." he mumbles as he makes his way back to where James is.

James glances up. "I know you want to kill me, you have every right to, but just let me say-"

"I'm not mad."

"What?"

"I said I'm not mad—if anything, I'm a little frustrated and upset, but I'm not mad."

"Kendall, I'm serious. If you really are pissed, you can-"

"James, I'm fine. I'm a little more upset with Tori for stringing me along. Yeah, you're a huge dick for doing what you did, but you're also my besf friend."

"So, we're good?"

Kendall shrugs. "We're okay."

"I can handle that. I really am sorry for what I did."

"I know, that just means that you owe me for not kicking your ass when the chance was presented to me." Kendall grins.

James chuckles. "Sure, man."

Kendall takes a seat next to him. "What the hell am I supposed to do about Tori?"

"Break up with her."

"I know that, but I'm talking about if she gets signed to Rocque Records, I won't even be able to be in the same room as her."

"It'll get better."

"Easy for you to say, you'll probably be dating her."

"Kendall, if it's going to be an issue, I won't ask Tori out."

"Hell no! We are not doing this again, you are gonna ask her out."

James laughs. "Okay, I'll ask her out."

Trina comes walking up behind them. "I see no one has been killed and I heard no yelling, so I assume everything is okay."

"Yeah," James nods. "Everything's good."

"Great."

"I guess I should go find Tori." Kendall says.

"Probably." Trina agrees.

"I really don't know what to say to her."

"Just tell her that you know everything." Trina says. "There's no point in trying to hide it; the sooner everything can be solved, the better."

"Yeah," Kendall sighs.

"Dude, it'll be fine."

Kendall rolls his eyes. "Like I said, you're just saying that because you're gonna date her once I break up with her."

"You know what?" Trina asks.

"What?"

"Let's all go back to my apartment. I think it's best if we're all there."

James nods. "Sounds good to me."

"I guess that's okay."

"Great, then let's get going."

* * *

Walking into the apartment, Trina looks around to see if Tori's in plain sight.

Not seeing her, she calls out her name. When Tori doesn't respond, Trina walks down the hall to her room and knocks on the door.

"Tori," she says through the door. "Could you come out here for a minute?"

She waits patiently before opening the door herself. Glancing around, she realizes Tori isn't in there either.

"Kendall," she calls out as she makes her way back into the living room.

"Yeah?"

"Did Tori come here once she left your apartment?"

Kendall nods. "Yeah, she said she was coming back here because she needed to have some time to herself."

"Maybe she went back to the park." James suggests.

"I think we would've passed her."

Trina pulls out her phone. "I'll call her. It's not like she could've went far, she doesn't have her license."

"Trina, isn't that her phone on the couch." James points out just as the ringtone sounds.

"Damn! Where is she?"

"I'm sure she'll be back soon."

"But this problem needs to be solved now." Kendall tells him.

Trina sighs. "I guess we'll have to wait until she gets back."

James begins to walk towards the door. "We can go ask Carlos and Logan, or even Camille, if they've seen her."

"I guess, but if something has happened to Tori my parents are going to kill me."

"I'm sure she's fine," James says. "Let's go."

They walk back out the door and down the hall to 2J. When they walk in, Carlos is sitting on the couch playing a video game.

"Carlos, pause the game." Kendall tells him.

"Dude, I'm almost on level 24. I can't stop this."

"It'll only take a minute."

Carlos huffs. "Fine."

"Have you seen Tori?" Trina asks him.

"Yeah, she had Logan drive her to the studio."

"Did she say why?"

"Just that she needed to talk to Gustavo."

Trina sighs. "Damn,"

"What?" Carlos asks.

"I think I know why she's there. Do you know how long they've been gone?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Why do you think she's there?" James asks her.

"You'll find out if the reason I'm thinking is right."

"They should be back soon, let's play some video games until they get back."

"You three play. I'll just watch."

"What about your level 24?" James asks Carlos as he takes a seat on the couch.

"Oh, I almost forgot. In that case, all three of you can watch the master at work."

"Until you lose." Kendall says.

"Whatever."

* * *

Three rounds and thirty minutes later, Logan comes walking through the door.

"Hey," Carlos yells out, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Hey."

"Did Tori come back with you?" Trina asks.

"Yeah, she went back to the apartment."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later."

"Trina, wait!" Kendall yells.

Trina turns around. "Yeah?"

Kendall spins her around and walks out the door with her. "I thought we were all going to confront her."

"We are, I just want to know why she went to the studio. I'll text you guys when to come over."

"Okay."

"Bye." Trina says and walks back to the apartment.

When she opens the door, she notices some boxes on the floor that were not there when she left.

"Tori?"

Tori comes walking out into the living room with some items from her room in her hand.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm packing."

"Why? We don't know if you're grtting signed or not."

"I'm not getting signed."

Trina sighs, her fear of why Tori went to the studio in the first place setting in. "How do you know?"

Tori places what is in her hands in one of the boxes. "I told Gustavo I didn't want to be signed to Rocque Records."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **I am EXTREMELY disappointed in this chapter. It's not what I wanted at all. I've written different variations of this chapter and they all seem so horrible. This is the only one I could deal with. So, remember you were warned that this chapter is awful. I will try to make chapter 13 ten times better than this, because this is a huge let down. It's also not that long because I didn't know what to write, so sorry about that. I would say enjoy, but this chapter doesn't even deserve that. So, yeah.

* * *

"You what?" Trina yells.

"I told Gustavo I didn't want to be signed to Rocque Records."

"How did I know you were going to do that?" Trina asks herself. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm causing problems here."

"Everyone is practically over it."

Tori rolls her eyes. "You're just delusional."

"I am not! I talked to both James and Kendall today, they're basically over it."

"Whatever, I still want to leave."

"Tori, everyo-"

"Don't, Trina." Tori says. "I don't want to hear it. I just wanna go back home and go back to Hollywood Arts and hang out with my real friends."

"I can't deal with you right now." Trina tells her as she starts walking back out the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Out!" Trina yells as she slams the door.

"Great, another person who's mad at me." Tori mumbles.

* * *

Trina marches herself to the elevator and down to the Palm Woods library before angrily taking a seat on one of the couches.

"Uh!" she groans.

"What's your problem?" she hears Katie's voice from behind her.

"My sister." Trina tells her.

"No offense, but she seems to be everyone's problem."

"None taken and I've realized."

Katie takes a seat next to her. "What is the whole situation about anyway? I've only managed to hear bits and pieces."

"To make a long story short: Tori liked James, James liked Tori, Tori dated Kendall, James used me, Tori admitted she liked James, James kissed Tori, Kendall found out, and that's pretty much it."

"Wait, James kissed Tori? When did this happen?"

"Earlier today. Oh, I forgot to add that Tori's not getting signed to Rocque Records."

"Why?"

Trina sighs. "She told Gustavo she didn't wanna be. It's really because she thinks she's causing way too many issues here."

"That's so stupid."

"Tell me about it."

"It's true, but it's stupid." Katie says. "Can't you talk her into staying?"

"Tori's not going to listen to me. She's in the apartment packing as we speak."

Katie gets off the couch. "I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to your sister."

"Katie-"

"I'll be back!" she yells as she walks towards the elevator.

* * *

Tori just got off the phone with her parents, informing them that she should be home by the end of the week. She begins to start packing some more just as the door opened.

"You're leaving?" Katie asks.

"I'm guessing you talked to Trina?"

"Yeah, you're leaving because of something stupid. It's not worth it."

"Katie, why do you even care?"

"Even though your relationship with Kendall wasn't the best, you're cool and talented. I think you should stay."

Tori smiles softly. "Thanks, but I really think it's better if I just went home."

"After all your hard work you're just gonna quit?"

"I'm not quitting, I'm making a decision."

"And your decision is to quit."

Tori sighs. "Katie, this really isn't your place."

"I'm trying to help. I think you're making a mistake."

"If I am, I'll be the one to live with it."

Katie groans. "Why are you making this difficult?"

"I'm not trying to. I just don't wanna stay."

"We want you to stay."

"No," Tori shakes her head. "Camille would want me to stay, Logan and Carlos might, you say you do, but that's it."

"Hello! James has been pining over you since you got here, he'll really want you to stay. Kendall may be upset, but he can't disagree that you belong here."

"Katie, I've made up my mind. I'm leaving the Palm Woods and that's that."

"Fine." Katie says before turning around and walking out the door.

* * *

"Hey!" Katie yells at the guys when she walks into the apartment.

"What?" Kendall asks.

"I need to speak to you and James. Where is he?"

"In the room."

"James! Come out here!" she yells.

"What's wrong?" Logan asks.

"You'll find out."

James comes walking into the room, sporting his usual black tank and gray sweatpants. "What's up?"

"Follow me." she tells him and Kendall as she walks into the hall.

The door closes and Kendall asks, "What's going on? Did something bad happen?"

"Did you two know that Tori's leaving the Palm Woods?"

"What?" they both say.

"She's leaving the Palm Woods."

"Why?" James asks.

"Why do you think?"

Kendall shakes his head. "She can't leave, she doesn't even know if she's getting signed to Rocque Records yet."

"She told Gustavo she doesn't want to be signed to Rocque Records."

"She can't do that!" James exclaims.

"But she did."

"Where is she?" Kendall asks.

"Apartment."

Kendall and James turn around and head to Tori's apartment to talk to her. They open the door without knocking to find Tori placing her things in boxes.

"Don't go!" they yell.

Tori sighs. "I can only assume Katie told you."

"Tori, why would you want to leave?" James asks her.

"That's really self-explanitory."

"We really want you to stay." Kendall tells her.

Tori shakes her head. "I can't."

Kendall sighs. "Tori, Trina told me everything. She told me about what really happened between you and James and how you truly felt about me."

"I wanted to tell you." she whispers. "I just couldn't."

"I'll admit I was pissed and a little hurt, I still am, but I'll get over it. You deserve to stay here."

James nods his head in agreement. "You really should stay, this is your dream."

"I've caused so many problems."

"In all actuality, you really only caused one." Kendall points out.

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because I know talent when I see it and you have talent. Despite everything that happened, you are cool and everybody else would agree."

"Tori, mistakes happen. I should know, I made a huge one. What's been happening over the past three months really should not affect you staying here." James says.

Tori rolls her eyes. "You're just saying that because you like me."

"According to Trina you like him, too."

"I really don't wanna talk about that."

"Let me say this, maybe it'll change your mind. I don't care if you like James, I wouldn't care if you two started dating. Yeah, it sucks that I was basically being used, but like I said, I'll get over it. If I didn't mean that, I wouldn't be in here right now trying to convince you to stay."

"I don't know."

"Just think about it. Stop packing and just sit down and think about it. If after that you still want to leave, there's really nothing else we can do." he sighs. "We'll leave you to think, come on, James." he says as he makes his way to the door.

"I'll be there in a minute."

Kendall stares at him for a moment before nodding and walking out the door.

"There's nothing you can really say." Tori tells him and sits on the couch.

James nods his head slowly. "I know."

"Then why are you still here?"

"I'm still here because I need to tell you something."

"What?"

James takes a seat beside her. "Don't stay."

Tori gapes. "Excuse me?"

"Don't stay."

"I'm sorry, didn't you come here to tell me_ to_ stay?"

"I did, but don't."

Tori shakes her head. "I don't understand."

"Go back home and to Hollywood Arts, go have fun with your friends and spend time with your family. Just go."

"I really-"

James cuts her off. "I'm not done." he says softly. "When you do leave, everyone at your school will wonder what happened. What will you tell them? When you're in your room one night and that big what-if thought crosses your mind, what will you do?"

"This is some type of reverse psychology, isn't it?"

"I'm not trying to do that, I'm just trying to get you to realize that you could possibly be making a big mistake. Don't ruin your dream by leaving."

"James-"

"Please, just think about it."

"I did."

James shakes his head. "You acted in the heat of the moment. You didn't really think about it."

"I've already ruined your friendship with Kendall, I don't wanna ruin something else."

"Kendall and I are okay, he's my best friend, everything's cool. You're not going to ruin anything by staying."

"You don't know that."

James sighs. "You know what, you're not going."

"What?"

"You're not leaving. If I have to glue the door shut to do that, I will."

"James, you're being ridiculous."

"No, I'm being serious."

Tori stands up and begins to place more things in the boxes. "Well, I don't think you are."

"Well, I am." he says and walks over to her. "I'm dead serious and that's saying something because I'm usually not."

That manages to get a small laugh out of Tori, but it quickly diminishes. "I still can't allow myself to stay here." she says as she picks up a picture frame to place in the box.

James grabs the hand that Tori's holding the frame with. "Then stay for me. I know everything's been crazy over the past couple of months, but I don't know what I'd do if you left. You don't have to date me, we can be friends. There's nothing wrong with that and if you think it would-"

He's cut off by the sudden press of Tori's lips against his.

"I told you, James, I do like you. I really do, but that unfortunately is not enough to make me wanna stay. I don't really feel like I belong here anymore."

"But you do." James whispers.

"I've heard that so many times today."

"Because it's true. A lot of people want you to stay, Tori. Please, just stay."

"Can I please have some time to think about this?"

James nods. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

"Bye." he responds before leaving.

* * *

"Katie, there you are! Where did you go?" Trina asks when Katie walks back in the lobby.

"I told you, I went to talk to Tori and then I went to tell Kendall and James."

"Why did you tell them?"

"Because she wouldn't listen to me, so I thought she would listen to them."

"And?"

Katie shrugs. "And I don't know. Kendall wouldn't tell me anything and James was walking back in the apartment as I was leaving so I didn't get to ask him."

Trina sighs. "I really hope Tori ultimately decides to stay."

"If she does, she's going to have to tell Gustavo about wanting to possibly get signed to Rocque Records all over again."

"Yeah, but that shouldn't be hard."

"You clearly don't know him that well. I'm sure the guys would help, though."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Are you gonna go talk to her?"

"Not now," Trina says. "I'm giving her some time to think."

"That's probably a good idea."

"Yeah," Trina sighs. "Maybe she'll come to a decision."

"And a good one at that."

* * *

James is pacing around the living room, having just told Logan and Carlos about the Tori situation, waiting for Tori to call or come over with her answer.

"So, she's not leaving?" Logan asks.

"I don't know,"

"Why would she stay after all of this?" Carlos questions as Logan hits him on the back of the head. "Ow! I was just saying."

"No need to point out the obvious." Logan tells him.

"He's right, though. In a way, she would be crazy to stay."

"But you don't want her to go."

James groans. "I know, Logan. I know. If she wants to leave, though, there really isn't anything left for me to do."

"I think she'll stay." Kendall says as he walks back in the room.

"Why?"

"Because she likes it here. She's living the dream. Over the past few months she's made memories that she'll never forget. Why would she leave that?"

"If that's true, why is she trying to leave?" Carlos asks him.

"Because she's being difficult. Trina did say that they can be difficult at times; this is one of them."

James sighs. "So, you really think she'll stay?"

"If she doesn't I'd be surprised."

"I really hope you're right." James says as he flops down on the couch.

Logan pats his shoulder. "Don't worry. Before you know it, she'll be walking through that door telling you she's staying."

"I hope so."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Victorious or Big Time Rush. They belong to Dan Schneider and Scott Fellows respectively.

**Author's Note: **We are at the end of this story. I finally finished my first story ever posted on FanFiction. I've had a lot of fun writing it, but it was time to move on to something else. I wanted a happy ending, however, and that's basically what's going on here. It's not super long, but I just wanted to cover everything briefly. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. Enjoy!

* * *

Tori didn't call and she didn't come by the apartment. For a minute James thought she might've left, but he knows Trina would've informed him.

It begins to get late, so he decides to go to bed. He lies in bed trying to go to sleep, but Tori keeps coming to his mind. With a groan he gets out of bed and makes his way, quietly so he won't wake Carlos, to the closet and grabs a pair of shoes. He leaves the apartment and sneaks out to the pool where he can get some real thinking done.

As soon as he's outside, he instantly feels better. The crisp California air relaxing him. He takes a seat in one of the lounge chairs and closes his eyes.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asks.

He opens his eyes to see Tori behind him. "Have a seat." he tells her.

Tori walks over to the lounge chair to the right of him and sits down with a sigh. "I guess great minds think alike."

"I'm sorry?"

"I came out here to think. I guess you did, too."

"Yeah. For some reason, no matter how quiet the apartment is, I couldn't think."

"That's exactly how I felt."

"I always come down here to think."

"I didn't know you were so capable of thinking." she jokes.

"Haha." James responds with a playful eye roll. "I can think. I just choose not to most of the time."

Tori smiles. "I've realized."

"I'm sure you have." he says as they fall quiet.

"There's not much for me to really think about anymore." Tori says suddenly.

"There's not?"

"No. I've made my decision. I guess I just needed a little more time to make sure it's what I want."

"Can I know what it is?"

Tori looks over at him with a soft smile. "I'm staying."

"Really?"

"Really. I guess your speech really got to me. I came here to make my dreams come true, I can't leave all that."

"That's great!"

"Yeah. Plus, I've met some really cool people. I don't think I can leave any of them either."

James reaches over and grabs her hand. "Good. I know they wouldn't want you to leave."

Tori laces their fingers together. "I know they wouldn't. I was just too stupid to realize it earlier."

"It's understandable."

"There's just one more thing."

"What?"

"How do I convice Gustavo to sign me back?"

"That shouldn't be too hard. You weren't signed in the first place."

"Actually, I was."

James raises an eyebrow. "You were?"

"Yeah, he told me I was getting signed when I told him I didn't want to be."

"Well. It might take a little bit of work, but the guys and I will definitely help."

Tori smiles. "Thanks."

"No problem and maybe after that's settled I can take you out on our first date."

"I'd like that."

"Good, I've been waiting to hear you say that for three months."

"I've actually been waiting for you to ask me that for three months."

"Well, I guess good things do come to those who wait."

"Along with a little drama." Tori laughs.

"Yeah, that too." he says with a smile as he squeezes her hand. "But it was worth it."

"Definitely."

* * *

Tori and James end up sleeping by the pool and when they wake, Mr. Bitters is standing over them.

"What are you two doing out here?"

"Sleeping." Tori responds.

"The pool's not open yet. I want you two back inside."

James rolls his eyes. "Fine."

"Get to it." he tells them as he walks away.

"I don't want to leave." Tori mumbles.

James stands and stretches. "I think we should before the sun really comes out and we get sunburned."

"I don't feel like moving." she tells him and turns on her side.

"That's cool, too." he tells her and walks over to her. "I got you." he says as he picks her up.

"How Bandana Man of you to do this."

James chuckles. "I'm a complex human being. At least that's what Logan tells me."

"He's right." she yawns.

James makes his way to Tori's apartment and walks through the door to see Trina in the kitchen.

"Tori! I thought you went home on your own." Trina says and runs over to them. "Where'd you find her?" she asks James.

"I didn't find her."

"We spent the night by the pool." Tori informs her.

"You two spent the night by the pool? Together? All night?"

"Yeah." James responds and walks over to the couch and places Tori down.

"What'd you guys talk about?"

"A lot of things." he says and walks back to the door. "I'll see you later, Tori."

"Bye."

"Later, Trina."

"Yeah. Bye." she says and waits for the door to close. "Okay, mind telling me what the hell is going on?"

"I went down to the pool last night to think and James was there thinking, too. We small talked and then I told him I made my decision."

"Which is?"

"I'm staying."

"Yes! Thank goodness you came to your senses."

"Yeah, he said he'll get the guys to help me get Gustavo to sign me back to Rocque Records."

"That's good. So, are you two a thing now?"

"Something like that, I guess."

Trina takes a seat next to her. "I'm happy for you, Tori."

"Thanks. I'm really glad you're the one who stayed with me here."

"I am, too."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Kendall asks James when he walks through the door.

"The pool."

"The pool's not open yet." Logan says.

"I know."

"You wanna tell us what we're missing here?"

"I spent the night."

"That's why you weren't in our room." Carlos chimes in.

"Yeah. I was down there thinking and then Tori came out there, too."

"And?" Logan pushes.

"She's staying."

"I told you!" Kendall tells him.

"Yeah, but she needs our help with getting Gustavo to sign her again."

Kendall shrugs. "That's nothing, I'm just glad she's staying."

"What makes you think that convincing Gustavo will be easy?" Logan asks him.

"Because it's us. You know we can do it."

"Hey, are you and Tori dating now?" Carlos asks.

"I guess we are." James replies with a quick glance at Kendall.

Kendall pats his back. "I'm happy for you, man."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I am. The past is the past." he smiles. "Now, come on, let's come up with a plan to get your girl signed back to Rocque Records."

* * *

It takes over an hour, but with Kelly's help the guys manage to talk Gustavo into signing Tori back to the label. He tells her that she's going to have to work harder to get the album done, but she isn't worried about it; as long as she's living her dream, she's good.

James asks Tori out for their first date almost immediately after they're done talking to Gustavo and she couldn't be more happy. Trina offers to help her with her hair and makeup; she usually would be against it, but figures a little help from her big sister wouldn't be such a bad thing. Plus, it's also something they can bond over.

"Thanks, Trina." Tori says once she's finished.

"You're welcome."

"Are you sure me going out with James doesn't bother you?"

"I'm positive. Go have fun and be sure to tell me all about it when you get back."

Tori laughs. "I will. I promise."

"You two should have fun, he's actually really entertaining. A little off his rocker at times, but still entertaining."

"That's a good thing."

"Where are you guys going?"

"I'm not sure. We didn't discuss it."

There's a knock on the door just as Trina's about to respond. "Guess you're about to find out." she says as she walks over to the door and opens it.

"Hey, Trina." James greets.

"Hi," she smiles.

Tori comes from out the back and stands next to Trina. "Hey,"

"Hey, yourself. Ready to go?"

"More than. I'll see you later, Trina."

"Have fun, but not too much fun."

"We will." Tori replies and closes the door. "Where are we going exactly?"

"One of my favorite places." he replies simply as he places his hand on the small of Tori's back.

"Which is?"

"The beach."

"Great, I love the beach."

"And the sun's gonna set soon, so we shouldn't be too hot."

"Watching the sunset on the beach. How cheesy." she jokes.

"It's not just regular cheesy, it's Hollywood-movie cheesy." he counters.

Tori laughs. "Absolutely."

"But it's cool, right?"

"Yeah," she smiles. "It sounds perfect."

* * *

They arrive at the beach and make their way to a spot away from everyone else. James places the blanket and the picnic basket down and waits for Tori to take a seat before he does the same.

The date goes by swimmingly; light conversation while simultaneously eating, people watching, and by the time they're done with all that, the sun starts to set.

"This has probably been one of the best dates I've ever been on." Tori admits.

"Really?" James beams. "I feel that way, too."

"And to think it took us three months to get here. Three long, somewhat chaotic, months."

"Yeah..."

"But I wouldn't change a thing about it."

"Seriously? After going through hell and back, you wouldn't change a thing?"

"Some things aren't worth the change because they give you such wonderful endings."

James chuckles. "Now that was an extremely cliché Hollywood line."

"Yeah, it kinda was. Either way it's still true."

"I guess this is how it was supposed to be."

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."

To make it seem like even more of a Hollywood movie, James leans over and kisses Tori. He kisses her the way he's been dying to for three months and there's no other way to describe how it is; the sound of the waves crashing, the sun setting, and just the atmosphere between them makes everything perfect.

* * *

Tori comes walking back into the apartment a little after midnight to a relieved looking Trina sitting on the couch.

"You could've called."

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to stay out so late." Tori explains and sits flops down on the couch.

"I'm guessing everything went well."

"Everything went more than well."

"I'm glad."

Tori smiles. "I am, too."

"Are you officially James Diamond's girlfriend now?"

"Oh, yeah. No more dating random girls for him, he has one girl and that's it."

"Good, make sure he knows that. We've had enough relationship problems to last us a while."

Tori places her head on Trina's lap and closes her eyes. "I agree completely."

"I'm really glad you decided to stay."

"Me, too. This has been the best three months of my life."

"And it can only go up from here."

* * *

James walks into apartment 2J and sees the guys on the couch playing video games.

"How was it?" Kendall asks, focused on the screen.

"Amazing."

"Good, I'm happy for you."

"Where'd you guys go?" Carlos asks.

"The beach for a picnic."

"A picnic that lasts until after midnight." Logan questions.

"Yeah, we were talking and just enjoying each other's company that we didn't wanna leave, so we stayed longer than planned."

"Sounds like James Diamond finally has long-lasting girlfriend." Kendall jokes.

"That's right. I am officially off the market. Just stick a sticker on me saying 'property of Tori Vega'."

"Whipped!" the guys yell at him.

"Whatever, I'm just fine being whipped."

Logan chuckles. "Never thought we'd hear those words."

"I never thought I'd say them." he laughs. "I guess that's just how amazing Tori is."

"Aww," the guys respond.

"You're gonna make me cry." Carlos says mockingly.

James rolls his eyes. "Whatever, I'm going to bed. See you guys in the morning." he tells them as he disappears down the hall.

* * *

Tori's sitting in her bed, having just got off the phone with Cat and is about to update her status on The Slap when she gets a text from James.

_"Sleep?"_

Tori smiles. _"Not yet."_

_"I literally can't stop thinkin bout u."_

_"Do u really mean that or r u just saying it?"_

_"I really mean it."_

_"Good cuz I can't stop thinking about u either. :)"_

_"Would u be up 4 breakfast w/ me in the morning?"_

_"Of course I would."_

_"Good. Can't wait. :)"_

_"Me either."_

_"I'll be at ur apartment about 9."_

_"Sounds like a plan."_

_"Cool. C u then."_

_"Night."_

_"Goodnight. Xo."_

Tori smiles as she reads the last message and goes back to update her status on The Slap.

_Some people say you can't get everything you've ever dreamed. Those people, in my opinion, are wrong. Always believe._

_**Mood:**__ victorious_


End file.
